Waiheke Residents Protest 1st Day of TPI contract

photo: Greg Treadwell

Transpacific Industries were nowhere to be seen on their first day of work at the waste/recycling center in Ostend as up to 70 Waiheke protesters locked the gates and held vigil outside bearing banners and illiciting honks from passing motorists.

The multinational waste giant was to face a Waiheke-style welcome when it turned up for its first day managing the island’s multi-million dollar waste stream today.

A group of up to 70 islanders of all ages furious that company has displaced community-owned Clean Stream Waiheke Ltd, a 10-year success story in recycling and other aspects of community waste management began forming at around 6am this morning.

Auckland City’s recent decision to award TPI the 10-year, $23m contract has brought howls of fury from islanders who are hoping to challenge the decision in court.

Organiser Rien Achterberg said islanders from all walks of life were upset by the loss of their community-based rubbish system and were expected to turn out to make their feelings known.

Islander Andrew Watkins said the reaction from islanders was “what happens when you take power away from a community”.

“This is a sustainability issue. We want the island developed sustainably.”

Judith Dalley said the island’s fiery community made it what it was.

“We are people from all walks of life who feel very strongly about protecting the environmental future of Waiheke,” she said.

The council’s treatment of a successful, community-owned service was “abhorrent”, she said.

Under the previous contract the island recycled more than 40 per cent of its waste stream but many islanders believe that success may be destined for the history books under the new contract.

Clean Stream employs 25 people, of whom only 10 will work for TPI.

Unlike Visy, which runs the council-owned recycling plant in Onehunga, Clean Stream has no problems finding markets for its high-quality recyclables.

Its hand-sorted recyclables avoid the degradation that comes with co-mingled recyclables like those piling up at the now-infamous Mt Visy in Onehunga.

Clean Stream also:

• runs its collection trucks on biodiesel it makes from used vegetable oils.
• contributes more than $1.3million in wages and services to the Waiheke community.
• converts 25,000 litres of used cooking oil from local restaurants a year to bio-diesel which runs its vehicle fleet.
• helps Waiheke residents achieve one of the top recycling rates and diversion of waste from landfill in the country – double the new national target at more than 40%.
• has no fee for green waste and produces mulch for re-use in our gardens. It recycles almost 2000 tons of green waste per year. Under the TPI contract green waste will go to town and then be transported back and sold to islanders at unnecessarily high prices.
• Produces such high quality sorted bales of plastic and cardboard that can be freighted back to Auckland in the empty trucks that stock Woolworths and are still finding national and international markets even in today’s dire economy

The current system is highly effective, community supported, non for profit and highly innovative, says Rien Achterberg.

“Come on. We need to get out of the last century. We have no time to waste,” he said.

At the city development meeting that initially awarded TPI the contract, councillor Glenda Fryer said: “Waiheke has an exemplar system with local jobs, money going back in the economy, research partnerships with the university, community engagement, product produced and recycling.

“The community has bought into the present system, they won’t [buy into] TPI.”

Video of the day:

July 1st Action - Waiheke from Scott Ewing on Vimeo.

Useful links:

1. Campbell Live’s coverage of the story.

http://www.3news.co.nz/Video/CampbellLive/tabid/367/articleID/108416/cat...

2. Waiheke does it better – a campaign site with background to the issues at stake, including video and media resources.

http://waihekedoesitbetter.org.nz/

3. Dr Lesley Stone in Gulf News.

http://www.waihekegulfnews.co.nz/other-news/waste-experts-speak-out.html

4. Other projects. See what Clean Stream does over and above picking up the rubbish:

ECB: Partnership with University of Auckland.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HUAJDT_Yyc