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In Mt. Eden, Auckland, New Zealand, a group called the Village People are helping shopkeepers recycle. Judith Holtebrinck, co-founder of the Village People has sent us this report.
Working towards Zero waste in Mt Eden village and planting fruit trees for the community.A group of women called ”The Village People“ have been working towards a sustainable future and zero waste in Mt Eden village for the past 4 years. Its vision is for Mt Eden village to become the first plastic bag free and sustainable suburb in Auckland.
The Village People come up with solutions to help mainly shop owners to do things in a different and more sustainable way and to recycle. Introducing and sourcing new products such as corn starch bags and food containers made out of potato starch is how the group started.
“The idea of The Village People is simple and brings the community together. As an example, we make the connection between local cafes and keen gardeners who want to use nutrient-rich coffee grinds for their gardens. We arrange the pick up times and dates so the coffee grinds don’t just end up in landfill.” says Judith Holtebrinck, co-founder of the Village People. “At the moment, we recycle 70 buckets of coffee each month. Doing things in a different way should be easy, and the Village People are there to help shops in the village come up with simple solutions to make a difference.”
Another successful project has been to pair up Mt Eden Picture Framers with the Epsom Girls Grammar School. The school now uses off cuts from the picture framer for their art classes, another product that would normally end up in landfill.
Lately the group has started working on plans to plant fruit trees in the streets of Mt Eden.
“We live in a land with fertile soil and lots of rain, and therefore we believe fruit should be available for everyone and part of the community. We see fruit trees planted along the streets and next to playgrounds, so children and parents can pick the fruit whilst having fun.
In a time where food and oil prices are rising, we do believe that we have to start planting fruit trees now for the next generation to enjoy. We believe that our projects bring our community together and encourages people to take care of the unique and beautiful country we live in as well as giving children the chance to access healthy food.”
The Village People are planning to plant the fruit trees in July 2009 and have joined the Transition Town movement to act on a bigger scale. You will find more information about the fruit tree planting project on the Transition Town website: http://www.transitiontowns.org.nz/node/942
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