Waves of change
No longer dumping rubbish into the sea, Norfolk Island is now a pioneer in a more sustainable future, writes Carolyn Beasley
Standing on the cliff, I’m awed by wild nature. The ocean surging below, the Norfolk Pines stretching skywards, and out to sea, a gaggle of terns, squawking. Norfolk Island exists in extreme isolation, 1600km from the Australian mainland, and 800km from New Zealand. It’s easy to assume this distance would protect the environment, but sadly, that’s not the case.
Until November 2021, a clifftop nearby was used to incinerate bulky waste. After the inferno, a bulldozer would tidy up. Burnt fridges and even cars would plummet off the cliff, splashing into the waters of a marine park.
Rather than protecting island communities, isolation creates monumental challenges for waste disposal. Regular landfills are not suitable here, as the vital groundwater would become contaminated. Instead, waste is currently shipped to Australia, costing $3 per kilo to export, adding A$1.8 million (NZ$1.9m) per year to the council rates of the 2100 residents.
In a world first, that’s all set to change. Norfolk Island is leading the way towards utilising waste as a resource, creating a circular economy.
The Norfolk Wave
As a visitor to Norfolk, you’ll notice the locals waving to every passing car. The “Norfolk Wave” is not only a welcoming gesture, it’s now also the name of a sustainability movement.
Natalie Grube, the movement’s founder, says that, historically, Norfolk people have been resourceful, especially when the Pitcairn Islanders, the descendants of the Bounty mutineers, arrived here in 1856. To her, the Norfolk Wave represents the evolution of this mindset.
The Norfolk Wave and the Norfolk Island Regional Council have partnered with Revolve Your World, a new company offering recycling options in-situ, cutting carbon emissions from transport and methane production from landfills.
From mid-2023, the Norfolk Wave Recycling Centre will be the first of its kind to operate, replacing the existing waste depot. Residents will sort their waste into five categories, food/ organic waste, glass, sanitary waste, hazardous waste and “Recyclapod”, which includes plastic, cardboard, and metal. Trained staff will separate and wash these “resources” before processing.
Power will come from solar panels and waste oil, and the system should reduce landfill by up to 90 per cent.
From the waste, the company will produce resources. Food waste will become compost, glass will become sand, while wood and plasticlined cardboard will become biochar, an engineered charcoal that improves soil.Plastic waste can be recycled too, becoming a concrete aggregate, through a process that incorporates biochar ash and crushed glass sand. “We’re really short of building materials here,” Grube says. “But a local guy is going to use this aggregate to make Besser blocks for construction.”
Prinke Ecostore
As the finishing touches are put on this exciting project, I’m checking out another venture that contributes to sustainability, Prinke Ecostore.
Making the coffee at this cafecum-shop is co-owner Sharyn Quintal, and behind her on the wall is a translation of the word Prinke. It comes from the local language N’folk, and means “to be extremely grateful”.
Quintal and co-owner Claire Quintal (distantly related through marriage), are passionate about reducing waste and opened this store four years ago.
“Most people are aware of rubbish issues here,” Quintal says. “We have to see it. We don’t just get to put it in a bin that gets picked up by someone else. We have to sort it into the right chutes. We get to see that the biggest one goes to landfill.”
Prinke sells bulk organic goods, canned foods and cleaning products. The shelves are stocked with plastic-free necessities, like wooden toothbrushes and stainless-steel lunch boxes. There’s a selection of fresh veges, and produce bags that Claire’s mum makes from recycled curtains.
Quintal says customers can buy as little or as much as they like. “Sometimes visitors might just need enough olive oil to cook the fish they’ve caught.”
Re-used glass jars are available, and you won’t find anything single-use here.
“If people don’t bring their reusable coffee cup, we just lend them a mug,” Quintal says.
Conscious living
The Norfolk Wave and Prinke are obvious bastions of sustainability, but for many, treading lightly is normal life.
Tintoela Homestead, the six-bedroom house where I’m staying, was constructed of local Norfolk Pine and is surrounded by fruit trees. As I check in, house manager Emma Christian demonstrates how to separate our waste. In the bathrooms, refillable amenity bottles are stocked with all-natural products, and Christian uses bulk, biodegradable cleaning products from Prinke.
She explains that Norfolk Islanders produce much of their own food, and proffers a hamper of sugar bananas, juicy tomatoes, free-range eggs, locally smoked bacon and incredibly moreish goat’s cheese.
As I tootle around the island in my hire car, I notice plenty of this small-scale farming, and eagerly buy their excess at roadside stalls. Popping a few coins in an honesty box, I’m soon feasting on home-grown papayas. Looking to the future, Grube is optimistic that Norfolk is beginning a waste revolution. For her, it’s all about the generations to come.
“I don’t feel like I own any part of the island, but I do feel like I’m a custodian for the land that I’m handing on to my kids,” she says. “There’s a personal responsibility we feel to create something that our kids can be proud of, and that will be a legacy for them.”