Common Unity
Starting off as a community māra kai (food garden) at a local kura (school), Common Unity has flourished into a community-based urban development project that grows food, skills, leadership and enterprise.
From their site The Remakery at 310 Waiwhetū Road, Fairfield, Common Unity supports the Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai / Lower Hutt community through:
- The Remakery Grocer – a low-cost, plastic-free grocery store.
- Recycled Rides – a community bike library offering rescued, fixed-up bikes.
- The Remakery Kitchen– offering plant-based whole foods at low cost, plus locally grown kai, a vegetarian menu (with plenty of vegan options) based on seasonal produce, and more (embracing vegan kai is a fantastic way to reduce your carbon footprint!).
- Compost Hub – a place where you can drop off your food waste, which will in turn be used to grow new food for the community.
- The Remakery Café – kai made from scratch and coffee which the community can enjoy in the cafe’s gardens, lounge and library.
- And more!
Visit www.commonunityproject.org.nz for more information.
Earthlink
Want to recycle something that doesn’t go into your yellow-top recycling bin? Take it to Earthlink!
Based at 25 Peterkin Street in Taitā, Earthlink is a hub of recycling innovation and success. They’ll take:
- Electrical goods
- Sporting goods
- White goods
- Cabling
- Rinsed Tetra Pak cartons (e.g. milk, juice)
- Motorised equipment
- Bric-a-brac
- DVDs and Blu-rays
- Metal lids
and MUCH more, sometimes depending on the condition.
What’s more, recycling is only one part of what these legends do! Earthlink is a not-for-profit charity supporting those in our community who struggle to get into work, as you can see in this video.
The team are building close and lasting relationships with the wider community through work that “promotes the health of our people and the health of our environment”.
The Earthlink shop sells a huge variety of recycled goods for you – at a bargain! – to take home and enjoy, items which the team have fixed, cleaned or rebuilt entirely. From gardening gear and electronics to kitchen utensils and DVDs, there’s something for everyone. Not to mention FREE BOOKS.
The shop is open on weekdays from 10am – 4pm, Saturdays from 10am – 3pm, and closed on Sundays.
Head over to www.earthlink.org.nz for the full story, or give them a call on 04 5677 111.
Endo Warriors Aotearoa
Endo Warriors Aotearoa supports people with endometriosis and fights period poverty with sustainability in mind. They offer free single-use & reusable period items to people who menstruate at (stocks pending):
- Koraunui Stokes Valley Community Hub (single-use period items)
- Walter Nash Centre (single-use & reusable period items)
- Morea library (single-use period items)
- Eastbourne Community Library (single-use period items)
- The Lower Hutt War Memorial Library (single-use period items)
- Naenae Community Library (single-use period items)
(Endo Warriors Aotearoa also have locations throughout Wellington, Porirua and surrounding areas.)
Visit www.endowarriorsaotearoa.com for more information.
Enviroschools
With 36 Enviroschools throughout Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai, and 143 across the Wellington region, this organisation is empowering our young people to design and lead sustainability projects with passion and expertise.
Enviroschools is a nationwide programme supported by Toimata Foundation, with Te Mauri Tau as a founding partner, and boasts a large network of regional partners. In this programme, early childhood centres and schools commit to a long-term sustainability journey, where tamariki/students connect with and explore the te taiao (the environment), then plan, design and take action in their local places in collaboration with their communities.
With such emphasis on protecting and celebrating out natural world, Enviroschools spend a lot of time on waste-reduction, sustainable communities, ecological building, learning for sustainability , and more. On top of taking direct action against the climate action immediately, it’s vital that we prepare tamariki and rangatahi with the skills and knowledge to build a greener, more sustainable future. As such, to say that Enviroschools are doing important work would be an understatement!
Visit www.enviroschools.org.nz for more information.
ITRecycla
Got batteries and / or electronic waste that you need to get rid of? Take it to ITRecycla in Gracefield!
Experts in technology-recycling and certified secure data destruction, ITRecycla recycles computer and electronic waste, surplus computer equipment, and redundant IT peripherals. This minimises the impact of such items on the environment, reusing 99% of materials and keeping hazardous substances out of te taiao (the natural world) of Aotearoa.
Remember, lead acid batteries for cars or lithium-ion batteries (and anything other than standard household batteries) cannot go into either your red-lid rubbish bin or yellow-lid recycling bin as they present a dangerous risk of fire.
While standard household types (AA, AAA, C, D etc) batteries can be put into your rubbish bin, there's the chance that, when they go to landfill, they may lead to a toxic soup called leachate getting into the ground water, contaminating the supply. As such, we highly recommend ITRecycla’s battery-recycling
service!
Let’s stop batteries and electronic waste from going to landfill. Find out more about ITRecycla at www.itrecycla.co.nz or call 04 5896293.
Your local library!
Take a book, read the book, bring the book back - it doesn't get much more sustainable than that!
The hubs and libraries across Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai / Lower Hutt are brimming with free entertainment and education that won't add to your carbon footprint.
They even offer a wide variety of services and extra resources. Check out all of Lower Hutt's hubs and libraries here.