Did you know you can get rid of your used plastic plant containers by taking them to any Palmers Garden World store for free? And it doesn?t matter if they are broken or dirty - easy.

Graeme Campbell of Palmers Garden World, Napier, encourages people to bring their used containers back for reuse and recycling, as it has many positive effects for the environment, customers and the company. For example, 35 tonnes of plastic pots are recycled by Palmers nationally in one year. That is as heavy as six adult elephants!! Knowing the pots would otherwise go to landfill, Mr Campbell says the collection creates a strong ?feel good? factor for the company and its customers as they are helping to preserve the environment through such a simple action.

Once the recycling cage is full of plastic plant containers, it is taken to Auckland by the same truck that transports the seedlings down to Hawke?s Bay. This saves another trip just for containers. Upon arriving in Auckland, some containers are washed and reused. All other containers go to Astron Plastics, where they are reconstituted back into pellets, which Mt. Wellington Nurseries use to mould new plant containers. The Nursery has always reused and recycled its own material, but four years ago, there was a shortage of plastic. A staff member came up with the idea of collecting it from the public through their Palmers Garden World stores, and the response was fantastic. It has been going ever since.

At the Napier store, Mr Campbell says the recycling cage is filled each week. As well as an advert in the newspaper every three weeks, Mr Campbell has registered with the Hawke?s Bay Waste Exchange to get word out about the service available. Alesha Wallace, coordinator of the Hawke?s Bay Waste Exchange, says she is extremely encouraged to see local people working towards diverting materials away from landfill. She hopes the service will continue to thrive in popularity, and that other businesses in Hawke?s Bay and throughout New Zealand, will look for ways to divert their material away from landfill. The Waste Exchange is one such avenue for diverting material. It seeks to match waste producers with waste users through a confidential web-based database of registered clients and their waste. If you would like to know more about how to divert your waste through the Waste Exchange, please contact Alesha Wallace on the details below, or visit the website www.nothrow.co.nz
Ph: 0800 668 4769
Email: aleshaw@hdc.govt.nz

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