Talk rubbish at recycling space
While tours at the O¯ marunui Landfill are not a new idea, the waste education centre is. Over the years, landfill tours were often challenged by bad weather and no space to answer questions raised.
So Hastings District Council and Napier City Council decided there was a need for a new learning space.
The new waste education centre, partly constructed with reclaimed materials, will be a dedicated space for people to learn about what happens to waste, and how to minimise it.
Nga¯ti Pa¯rau kauma¯tua Tamati Cairns officially named the building “Te Whare Mukupara” after it was officially completed.
“Te Whare Mukupara” translates as “Te Whare”, the house, as the space will house visitors, groups and schools during their visit to the education building with manaakitanga and care; “Muku” means delete, cease, or minimise, which aligns with the purpose of the building and education programmes around sharing knowledge on how to minimise waste’ and “para” means rubbish or waste.
Hastings district councillor and chairwoman of Hastings and Napier’s O¯ marunui Refuse Landfill Joint Committee Ann Redstone said Te Whare Mukupara was a valuable addition to the ongoing waste
minimisation work being done by both councils.
With extensive community consultation on the Joint Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2018-2024, education about minimising waste was identified as an important tool to help keep the most waste out of landfills.
“Having this building gives us a dedicated space to help educate and improve community awareness of all the products that can be reused or recycled and ways that can be done,” Redstone said.
Napier councillor and Joint Waste Futures Committee chairwoman Hayley Browne believed Te Whare Mukupara would change the experience of visiting the landfill.
“We want to empower our
communities, and those who work in the waste space, to minimise waste and maximise their use of resources.
“As a region, our vision is to work towards zero waste using a whole suite of tools. Education is at the heart of that.”
The education building would not be limited to tours. The councils plan to also use it for events and educational workshops through their waste minimisation teams, and community initiatives.
Hastings District Council and Napier City Council are developing a joint waste education programme that will be available to schools in Hastings and Napier, and anticipate the programme will be ready to begin next year.