The Unpackit crew will be in Kaitaia on Tuesday 19th April, encouraging people to have their say in the 2011 Unpackit Packaging Awards.

The crew will be at Centennial Park from 11am to 2pm, with a display featuring the 16 finalists in the 2011 people’s choice awards for the best and worst packaging in New Zealand.

They will also perform skits from their roadshow which includes chip-pack juggling, wrapper rapping and bananas on stilts.

People will be able to vote for their pick of the “Best” and “Worst” finalists at the skate park.

Votes can also be made online at www.unpackit.org. More than 4,000 votes have been received since the shortlists were announced on 25th March.

Roadshow organiser Ivy Willmott said the idea behind the Unpackit roadshow is to make people laugh as well as making them think.

“It’s a serious message, but it doesn’t need to be boring,” she said.

The roadshow has been touring the country since Monday 28th March, when the first show was performed in Wanaka.

Awards organiser Sophie Ward said the 16 finalists had been narrowed down from over 100 nominations.

“We were surprised to find that nearly all of the eight “Best” finalists are from small to medium-sized New Zealand businesses, with the exception of Speight’s.

“For most of the Best finalists, the packaging is part of the brand they’re creating and they’ve put a lot of thought into it.

“Some of the best packaging is made from recycled materials, or from a waste stream – such as Potatopak which is made from starch waste from potato chip manufacturers.”

All of the “Best” finalists are fully recyclable and/or home compostable. In contrast, all of the eight “Worst” finalists are destined to end up in the rubbish bin, because they can’t be recycled or composted.

“All of the eight “Worst” finalists use more packaging than they need to, most of them are what I would call excessive,” said Ms Ward.

“I don’t know whose bright idea it is to individually wrap Sunsweet’s prunes, but I haven’t met one person on the roadtrip so far who doesn’t think that it is absolutely ridiculous.”

Ms Ward said the eight “Worst” finalists had also failed to label their plastics with an identifying number in a triangle (with the exception of Cadbury Drinking Chocolate who did label their plastic lid). As a result, the plastics couldn’t be properly recycled.

Ms Ward said she encouraged everyone to come down and enjoy the roadshow. “Anyone who can’t make it, can view the finalists and vote by going to the Unpackit website www.unpackit.org

The Unpackit Roadshow of Joy will be on tour until April 21st. For a full itinerary and roadshow blogs, please go to www.unpackit.org

The winners of the awards will be announced May 6th

An official month-long period for public comment on the Northland Regional Council’s Draft Annual Plan 2011-2012 begins Wednesday 06 April.

More than 60,000 copies of a 16-page summary of the draft plan are currently being distributed to mailboxes throughout Northland to coincide with the start of the consultation period, which will run until 3pm on Friday 06 May.

Copies of the summary – and the full 148-page draft proper – will also be available from the council’s website www.nrc.govt.nz/draftannualplan from 06 April, as well as all regional council offices and public libraries throughout the region. Several hundred copies of the full draft plan will also be sent out to interested parties.

At this stage, regional councillors are expected to hold hearings to consider the public submissions at Dargaville on Tuesday 17 May, at Kaikohe on Wednesday 18 May and at Whangarei on Thursday 19 May.

The Bay of Islands BayCare Group have organised a:

Native Seed Native Seed Collecting Workshop
- All welcome -

10 am Sunday 17th April
NorthTec Campus
(Corner Kerikeri & Hone Heke Rds)
Kerikeri

The idea is to have a fun "hands on" workshop involving - 

• Identification of native species, particularly key riparian species and their seed collection dates
• Seed collection techniques and demonstrations
• Preparing seed for storage
• Storage of seed
• Labeling / Eco-sourcing
• Sowing techniques
• Practical "hands on" potting up of plants, using Toetoe and Koromiko for the BayCare "Living Streams" Project as the practical material
• There will be handouts on basic collection information and species collection time frames

Anybody with any interest in native plant propagation and seed collection is very welcome to come along - bring gardening gloves and lunch to share at the end of the workshop.

Turn your farm waste into a fuel
Taipa Workshop

2pm - Friday 15 April
49 Taipa Heights Drive

For several months a local project has been busy fermenting and distilling farm waste produce. Although the liquor being produced is not for drinking, there should be something to celebrate at the end of it. The Far North Environment Centre and Far North Envirolab have teamed up to show how a low cost distil system can add value to on-farm waste products by converting them into beneficial by-products including renewable ethanol fuel, animal food stock and fertiliser.

The project has been partly supported through the Sustainable Farming Fund which is administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and it is hoped that the uptake of similar initiatives could provide many economic and environmental benefits.

As part of the project, Andreas Kurmann from the Far North Envirolab wants to demonstrate how ethanol can be produced cleanly and cheaply, using a wide variety of plants and waste products, from kiwifruit to raupo. He believes that by increasing the availability of ethanol based fuels we could avoid the increasing prices at the petrol pump, become more energy independent, as well as slow and potentially reverse global warming. As a fuel ethanol is a much cleaner fuel than petrol, and you can use it in your car, right now. In addition, ethanol fuel production can be environmentally sustainable, revitalises farms and communities, and creates huge new opportunities for small-scale businesses.

What the project is trying to show is that the by-products of small-scale ethanol plants can be used in profitable, energy-efficient, and environmentally positive ways. For instance, spent mash (the liquid left over after distillation) contains all the nutrients the next fuel crop needs and can return it back to the soil if the fields are close to the operation.

A demonstration workshop for anyone interested to learn more about the project has been planned for 2pm on Friday 15th April at the Far North Envirolab site: 49 Taipa Heights Drive, Taipa. For more information contact Richard at the Far North Environment Centre on 09 408 1086, click here to email him.

NZ Herald - By Isaac Davison, Tuesday Mar 29, 2011

Individually wrapped prunes, a tiny meal encased in six pieces of plastic, and a frustratingly fiddly printer cartridge are in line for the dubious title of worst packaging in New Zealand.

A public vote for the Unpackit Packaging Awards (click here for more info) found more than 100 products with non-recyclable, poorly labelled or just plain annoying wrapping on our shelves.

A shortlist of the eight worst-packaged products was dominated by large multinationals.

The list included Sealord Deli-Menu, a small tuna meal which came with six pieces of plastic, none of which could be recycled.

Unpackit spokeswoman Sophie Ward said that for a so-called convenience food, it had a "ridiculous amount of waste for a snack or small meal".

Sealord responded by saying there was a balance between reducing the amount of packaging and making sure the food stayed safe, convenient, and kept its flavour. But it admitted there was room for improvement.

Sunsweet Individually Wrapped Prunes had a non-recyclable wrapper for each piece of fruit, with further layers of non-labelled or non-recycled plastic.

Sunsweet's New Zealand spokesman, Ken Garmonsway, said it meant people could take a healthy product with them, without getting in a sticky mess.

Brother's ink cartridges and Oral Braun toothbrush heads were also popular nominations. Their nearly impenetrable packs received many New Zealanders' votes for most annoying wrapping.

Brother marketing manager Michael Smith said the wrapping was being gradually phased out for a different type.

But the individual wrapping around packages was necessary to stop the ink evaporating.

At the other end of the scale, small and medium-sized New Zealand companies have all the nominations for best packaging.

Ms Ward said the overseas businesses could learn a lesson from smaller local firms, which used innovative and commonsense packaging to minimise waste.

Several companies were nominated for using cardboard packaging with a high proportion of recycled material.

Also among the contenders were companies that turned packaging into a product.

Ideal Cup and Rethink reusable bags created alternatives to single-use coffee cups and plastic bags.

Wellington company Wishbone produced a modern twist on traditional packaging. The cardboard box its children's bike came in had printed designs, encouraging children to reuse the box as a toy.

Classic packaging such as the swap-a-crate and egg carton were also nominated.

Labelling was a very important point, Ms Ward said. There was no point in using compostable or reusable products if consumers did not know what to do with them.

Public voting for awards runs until April 29, and winners will be announced on May 6.

Shortlist of the worst-packaged products is dominated by large multinational companies

WORST PACKAGING

Cedenco Prepack Corn on the Cob Two layers of non-recyclable plastic on every corn cob.

Brother Ink CartridgesEach cartridge wrapped in difficult-to-open plastic bag and a cardboard box, packaged together in large non-recyclable plastic pack.

Oral Braun Toothbrush HeadsIndividually wrapped toothbrush heads, in fiddly recyclable plastic which has no recycling label, all contained within a larger non-recyclable container.

BEST PACKAGING

Potatopak (Blenheim) Plates and bowls for takeaway food made from potato starch (a waste stream).

Speights swap-a-crate (Dunedin) "A classic which deserves a come-back," say award organisers. A deposit is paid when the first crate is bought, which ensures empty beer bottles are returned for refilling.

Wishbone 3-in-one bike (Wellington) The bike's packaging, a cardboard box, is printed for kids to play with, and made of 75 per cent recycled material.

By Isaac Davison | Email Isaac

Transition Town Kaitaia

NAU MAI, HAERE MAI

 It’s movie time @ REAP - 6.30pm, Friday 8th April.

CRUDE

What is oil anyway? How come we’re so dog-gone keen on it? What’s ahead now we’re burning it up like it’s going out of fashion?

CRUDE draws on geology, history, climate science and economics to present a compelling picture of how oil literally drives our society. Find out the real reason behind fuel price increases. (90 mins)

Then Supper – catch up with new and old friends over snacks and a cuppa, followed by ‘CRADLE TO CRADLE’ – designing 100% recyclable products and cities – inspiring, hopeful, fast-talking! (20 mins)

SEE YOU THERE!

 At REAP, 33 Puckey Ave, Kaitaia,

Fri 8th April @6.30pm - free admission.

Transition Town Kaitaia monthly meeting same evening at REAP from 5.30pm – all welcome.

Transition Town Kaitaia, building community resilience through

•  Community Gardens (behind Te Hau Ora o Te Hiku o Te Ika)
• Sustainable Living Courses – housing, power, water, gardening, time banking (contact REAP)
• Community events – movie nights, speakers, displays, open days
• ACTION – towards a harmonious, productive and sustainable community

Check out the Transition Town Aotearoa website: www.transitiontowns.org.nz for background on the Transition Town concept – there’s a growing network of Transition Towns in Aotearoa NZ and globally because healthy, well-connected and sustainably resourced communities MAKE SENSE.

Schools are being urged to act quickly to try to win a share of this year’s $20,000 Northland Regional Council Environmental Curriculum Awards.

Rawene School students with their new worm farm, part of a developing school composting programme – one of 21 Environmental Education projects in 19 schools recognised with a Northland Regional Council 2010 Environmental Curriculum Award.

Council Environmental Education Officer Susan Botting says schools have until Tuesday 17 May to apply for funding via the awards, which aim to boost environmental education in the North.

Ms Botting says the council recently sent fliers to 150 Northland schools alerting them to the awards.

“Each school can apply for a maximum $2000 in Environmental Curriculum Awards’ funding, which must be spent on school-based environmental education projects.’’

“Although the 17 May deadline is some time away, schools are urged to get their applications in as soon as possible as this helps us avoid a last minute rush that can slow application processing times.”

Ms Botting says last year 19 Northland schools were funded for schoolground projects ranging from honey harvesting to a bush-based learning platform and tackling exotic pest plants.

She says applicants need to show how their schools are putting effort into sustainably managing Northland’s natural and physical resources, which is a key regional council goal.

Application forms can be downloaded from the council’s website via www.nrc.govt.nz/eca The website also includes details of previous awards winners and their projects.

Completed applications should be sent to the council’s main office – Private Bag 9021, Whangarei Mail Centre, Whangarei 0148 - by 5pm Tuesday 17 May.

Trapper Training Workshop

 14 April 2011

 St Johns Training Room,

 Kerikeri Ambulance Station

 10am – 3pm

Inviting all pest and predator trappers to a free workshop  

• Find out about the 'Henry' self-setting traps    
  
• Get answers to your trapping issues
• Hear about Leptospirosis and how to avoid it!
• Get the latest updates on trials of new toxins and traps
• Network with other professional trappers

Lunch provided

RSVP by 4th April to secure a place

Contact: Ngaire Tyson, NZ Landcare Trust at

ngaire.tyson@landcare.org.nz

or phone 09 4300954