Business category winners in the 2021 Taranaki Regional Council Environmental Awards.
Taranaki District Health Board - for a solid and broadly based commitment to sustainability, recognising that a healthy population needs a healthy environment
From rooftop solar panels to predator traps in the grounds, the Taranaki District Health Board is committed to action at all levels to protect the environment, reduce emissions and cut waste. It’s breaking new ground on the journey. As the country’s first DHB to join the Future Post initiative, it’s recycling up to 44 tonnes of soft plastic a year to be turned into fence posts. And the new East Wing will have Taranaki’s first 5-star Green Building excellence rating. Staff are also embracing the cause. The anaesthetics team has reduced carbon emissions by 161 tonnes over four years. Others are involved in predator trapping and community orchards on hospital grounds. And car pools and other commuting alternatives are winning good support.
Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 MEGA, New Plymouth - for achieving a significant reduction in single-use plastics going to landfill, and for promoting recycling and sustainability
The green-fingered can keep on being green, thanks to an initiative by Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 MEGA in New Plymouth to recycle the plastic pots that plants and seedlings are sold in. The containers are unsuitable for kerbside recycling but under this initiative, they are shipped to Auckland to be chipped and made into new plastic pots. Hundreds of kilograms of the lightweight pots are being shipped for recycling. Collection points are prominent in-store and all pots are accepted, even those supplied by other garden businesses. The stores are owned by Jones and Sandford and also sponsor Marfell Community Garden, with staff lending a hand. And staff are given re-usable coffee cups and drink bottles for use in the Columbus Café.
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