Waste audit well worth it for Aotearoa Fisheries

New Zealand-based fisheries company Aotearoa Fisheries recently undertook a waste audit at its site on Lorne Street, Wellington, as part of the business’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan.

The company’s group manager of human resources and corporate affairs, Allyn Glaysher, admitted that Aotearoa Fisheries is “a large and diverse company with a huge range of processes that do generate waste”. In light of this, the company employed Global Action Plan Oceania to “make sure what we do generate goes to the best possible place to have the least impact on the environment”, he explained.

As a result of the audit, under-desk bins in the Wellington office will be removed and larger, mixed recycling bins will be placed centrally to encourage recycling. Outside, recycling cages will also be introduced to reduce the material going into the general waste bin. Clean plastic film can also be recycled, and Glaysher says he is currently looking at services to cater for this waste.

Wellington Regional Manager Richard Evans noted that there is limited space available on-site for the recycling cages. But while Glaysher acknowledged that the Lorne Street site “will provide some challenges to implement some of the changes”, he said the company is “confident we can find a way around these challenges”.

A similar audit was conducted eight months ago at the company’s Auckland processing plant, where recycled content has increased by almost 50% to date. All other Aotearoa Fisheries sites will also undergo waste audits over time, with specific waste management strategies to be developed for each of them.

Image caption: Allyn Glaysher helps with the Wellington waste audit.