Construction waste study next project for environmental group

BY JULIA WADE

25 July, 2022

As Mangawhai’s population continues to flourish with new homes sprouting up around the land to house new locals, the potential for a construction waste pile-up has already been pinpointed by a forward-thinking local organisation with an eye on the area’s environment.

The district’s very own ecological watchdogs, Sustainable Kaipara (SK), formally launched their new venture ‘Building Out Waste in Mangawhai – a Construction Waste Feasibility Study’ on July 11, attended by project partners, Kaipara mayor Jason Smith and Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime.

Across New Zealand construction and demolition debris reportedly make up 40-50 percent of the country’s landfill, with each new house estimated to be generating between 22-33 cubic metres of waste.

Mangawhai is one of the fastest growing residential areas in the nation, with the population expected to more than double by 2051, making up 86 percent of Kaipara’s population growth over the next 30 years. The resulting building boom will potentially become a big problem, SK’s Sarah Bray says.

“It’s a significant issue for a semi-rural community with massive population growth and no landfill within the district,” she says.

“The waste study is specifically focused on Mangawhai and is much-needed as we need to prepare for the growth ahead. It aims to evaluate viable options on how we can tackle the diversion of construction waste in this fast-growing area.”

Co-funded through the Ministry for the Environment’s competitive Waste Minimisation Fund and Vermont Street Partners (developers of Devich Road’s Lake View Estate) the project is also supported by local businesses Smith Construction, Finess Group and ITM Mangawhai.

The feasibility study will complete an independent report quantifying the size and scope of construction waste in Mangawhai, an implementation plan for potential solutions and approaches including from a Te Ao Maori perspective, and an industry engagement campaign to understand and heighten awareness of local building waste.

The project is only the first step in tackling the issue Bray says.

“There’s so much that can be done with construction waste but it’s a complex issue including better design, behaviour change and viability of recycling services,” she says.

“There’s plenty of good data and information on this issue so we’re not looking to replicate that, but rather look at the issue with a Mangawhai lens and find fit-for-purpose solutions.”

Almost two years ago, Northland MP Willow-Jean Prime was in Mangawhai for the launch of Sustainable Kaipara’s Compost Project, which also received funding from the Waste Minimisation Fund, and says it was a pleasure to attend another opening of the organisation’s projects.

“I love to see Sustainable Kaipara’s work and the fact that they don’t stop thinking about what is next,” she says.

So far, they have diverted over 160,000 kilograms of waste from landfill and have been self-sustainable for the last year. I’m excited to see what they do with this initiative. It’s also great to see local businesses getting behind them too, excellent team work!”

Mangawhai’s building waste-busters, from left, Caren Davis (Sustainable Kaipara) and son Matariki, Edward Sundstrum (Vermont Street Partners), Nick Smith (Smith Construction), Willow-Jean Prime (Northland MP), Margaret Baker, Stephanie Gibson and Sarah Bray (Sustainable Kaipara),

Rob Cook (ITM Mangawhai), Matt Strong (Finess Group Ltd) and Jason Smith (Kaipara mayor).

Sarah Bray says “we were delighted to have the key project partners, mayor Jason Smith and MP Willow-Jean Prime join us to officially launch this exciting project. They helped us launch Sustainable Kaipara almost to the day two years ago, so thei