Change by closing waste loop
A clean, green environment and live concerts might not seem a likely partnership, but a major player in the environmental scene is closing that loop.
Closed Loop was founded in Australia in 2001, after the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.
Closed Loop contributed to a record Olympic landfill diversion rate of more than 70 per cent. Sydney 2000 Olympics is still the benchmark for identifying, developing and implementing the ‘closed loop’ concept, says Closed Loop NZ director Greg Schicker.
Greg has returned with a young family to live in Hawke’s Bay, where he has started the New Zealand company after working for the Melbourne office for five years.
“We are a sustainable solutions company with multiple offering. I head up the Closed Loop Site Services division across Australia and New Zealand where we do 250 events a year and am a director that overseas all other New Zealand offerings. We are trialling a coffee cup recycling programme called Simply Cups, changing cups into cup trays and we are working on bringing in composters that convert food waste into compost overnight.”
Greg says the company’s environmental credentials have evolved over the past 18 years.
“This allows us to tailor-make solutions for all industries with a growing array of products and services.”
There are currently three fulltime employees in New Zealand, with the divisional team extending to eight. There are also around 15 seasonal workers and contractors, with another 300-plus casual workers contracted through agencies. The NZ office is based in Napier, with one manager each based out of Tauranga and Christchurch.
Greg says Closed Loop is an important company in today’s environmentally aware climate.
“People want to know they are attending events that are trying to be sustainable. They want to see results and for their hardearned money to go towards making events sustainable and not just lining a promoter’s pocket. We are wanting to make a change in this world and the best place to start is locally and in my backyard.”
Closed Loop looks to control the inputs and materials coming into events and festivals, use the correct bins systems and skips, have teams that clean, educate and sort the materials onsite and make sure it all goes to the correct location for processing, composting, up or recycling. He says there are a lot of cleaning, waste transport and bin and skip infrastructure companies out there but not a lot that want to look after the entire process. There are still many major events in Hawke’s Bay which set up bins and skips, use volunteers to clean and it all ends up in one skip and off to the landfill.
“It’s very sad. We partner and engage community, local companies and recourses to make ensure nothing falls down and we can close the loop. There is one other company in Auckland and we support this as it means the market is changing for the good.”
Greg says a dedicated team works to support companies who want to make their events sustainable.
“Once we feel a company is serious then we really put a lot of time into their journey. They generally hear about us through word of mouth, on social media or see our work utes with contact details on them.”
A typical day in the life of support staff during an event would begin with the set up and placement of bins and infrastructure.
“We then talk to the stallholders, bars and support staff to ensure they are looped in to what we are trying to achieve. The event starts and we clean and maintain the areas and take the waste and materials back to the compound to be hand sorted. When the event finishes we clean and clear the materials, the next day all this is sorted and then we
‘We are wanting to make a change in this world and the best place to start is locally and in my back yard.”’
GREG SCHICKER
do a final clean and have the skips picked up and taken to locations where they can be processed, up or recycled and composted.”
Greg says highlights have included achieving some “amazing” results at this year’s Bay Dreams North and South events.
“Across the two events, 74.5 per cent of all waste materials were recycled, totalling 383.37 cubic meters of resources diverted from landfill — the industry standard is around 30 per cent. Locally we diverted 71 per cent from landfill at the Angus and Julia Stone event at Church Road Winery and 69 per cent at Zeffer Ciders Events.”
The reaction of the public shows Greg Closed Loop is on the right path.
“People want to see more of us. The new generation of event and festival goers will actually come and help you when they can see you are trying to sort the waste or will walk that extra bit to ensure it goes in the correct bin. We also have a waste minimisation plan that we take to each event so this helps the overall materials and footprint.”
With Ben Harper playing this weekend, Greg is sorting all the waste.
“There are some great supporters of what we do in the Bay and the enquires are starting to mount. Beth Elstone is a local promoter who has been a big part in helping us being noticed in Hawke’s Bay. She sees the environmental and cost benefit in having us work her events.”
■ For more information or to contact Closed Loop visit www.closedloop.co. nz/, email greg.schicker@closedloop.co.nz or phone +64 27 761 9713.