Auckland’s latest Community Recycling Centre (CRC) officially opens this Saturday 9 September in Wairau Valley.
North Shore ward councillor and Chair of the Planning, Environment and Parks Committee Richard Hills is especially pleased to welcome this addition to the area.
“Wairau, our 12th community recycling centre, is part of our growing network of facilities which are essential for the region to achieve Auckland’s zero-waste by 2040 goal. The Wairau CRC, along with the Devonport CRC, gives North Shore residents and businesses practical opportunities to create a sustainable future. Not only to buy second-hand items, but also to develop skills to make the most of our resources and directly benefit local businesses and communities,” says Cr Hills.
Operated by social enterprise Localised as a Zero Waste Hub, the Wairau site already processes 60 tonnes of items every month from Auckland Council’s on-property inorganic collections service.
The Porana Road site is well known to the 106 community organisations that are registered to sort and collect reusable and recyclable items from the inorganic collections. These community groups include opportunity shops, art groups, schools, social enterprises and nonprofits such as Menzshed, Lake House Arts and The Collective.
As Wairau Community Recycling Centre, it will open its doors to the public as a reuse shop, initially on the second Saturday of the month.
During the rest of the month, the site will be closed to the public, except for workshops run by community groups in a dedicated 60-square-metre community space. Workshops will focus on helping people live a zero-waste lifestyle through practical and artistic means. Coming up are workshops on restoring furniture and getting creative with junk.
As interest and community involvement grows, Localised Zero Waste Hubs General Manager Carla van Walen envisions the space being well used, and the shop opening more frequently.
“The shop will have both items for sale in good working order and items that need some repair or mending. Everything will be very affordable as we really want to see things go. Our primary aim is to give these items a new lease of life and make a difference in our local community,” says Ms van Walen.
In addition, Localised will have its own collection service for reusable and recyclable items from businesses and households, which can be booked with the centre directly.
The official opening takes place on Saturday 9 September at 10am with a Second-Hand Saturday event open to the public starting at 11am on the same day.
From October, the shop will open on the second Saturday of every month, between 10am and 2pm.
Where: Wairau Community Recycling Centre, 9 Porana Road, Wairau Valley, Auckland.
To find out more information visit https://www.localised.nz/wairauzerowastehub
To find out more about the CRC network, visit the Auckland Council website and search for ‘community recycling centres’.
