Zero Waste: Amberley District Residents' Association Inc

The Amberley District Residents Association has been an Incorporated Society for 25 years.

It has established and developed sustainable programmes for waste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery within the entire Hurunui District through its division, Hurunui Recycling, established in 1991.

The District covers an area of 873,000 hectares with a population of 10,000. There are 12 average size towns within the area and some 1,700 kilometres of roading. Hurunui Recycling operates throughout this entire area covering many kilometres each week for collections. The district has generated 5,000 tonnes of waste per annum and the recycling has reduced this to around 3,000 tonnes per annum.

The Association works in alliance with the Hurunui District Council, on occasions attending waste management workshops and seminars on behalf of Council and managing recycling through all Council Transfer Stations.

Transfer Stations and a kerbside collection for the Hurunui District towns are managed and operated by the Association.

Hurunui Recycling employs six full time staff and two part time. The organisation is managed by a committee of volunteers who handle all matters of administration, budgeting, costing, marketing and the Association's Reuse Store and depots. The operation is open eight hours per day, five and a half days per week.

The Association has shared its many experiences with other community groups and extended its services to those wishing to become established by completing data for material collections, depot design and marketing.

In particular, it places emphasis on the need to establish a Reuse Store where communication is an essential ingredient for increasing community support and enthusiasm.
Mindful of community needs on a national basis, the Association has developed a "Guide to Community Recycling" and has researched the potential for utilising recycled materials nationally within the scope of a recovery processing park.

Enquiries within the following categories are welcome:

• Developing Community Recycling,
• Educating for Waste Minimisation programmes,
• Marketing,
• Material uses,
• Transfer Station Management,
• Budgeting,
• Transport.

In June 2000 the Association was recognised for its long term achievements, by the Ministry for the Environment with the award of a Green Ribbon Certificate for Local Government - Community Work in Waste Management.

Contact:

Mollie Anderson
PO Box 87
Amberley 8251
Phone 03 314 8268
Email: