Circular Wine Group praises Marlborough recycling changes
New waste management rules in Marlborough will add impetus to recycling efforts by the wine industry, says Circular Wine Group member Jim White.
Since starting up in 2007, the Agrecovery Rural Recycling programme has seen more than one million kilograms of container plastic recycled.
And the past 12 months have shown how much the programme is taking off. Provisional results show that in the 12 months up to June, 15,495kg of unwanted chemicals and 240,732kg of recycled plastic were collected by Agrecovery. That's a 50% jump in container recycling over a two-year period. What's more the recycling of this amount of product versus using new plastic, saves energy equivalent to 452,000 litres of petrol.
There are six regional collections held in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Gisborne, Greater Wellington, Marlborough and Canterbury. The industry-good programme is New Zealand's solution for the disposal of unwanted agrichemicals (including those used in wineries and vineyards) and the recycling of empty plastic packaging.
The avocado sector is entering the new season with a larger crop and positive market opportunities.
New Zealand growers have always adapted to changing conditions, but one challenge is steadily gaining ground across the horticulture sector: resistance.
Blueberries have the potential to become a major horticultural export, earning up to $150 million within the next three to five years.
Twenty five secondary school students from around New Zealand recently completed a three day residential programme designed to explore career opportunities across the food and fibre production supply chain.
Conversions of sheep and beef farms to forestry have slowed, however new research from Beef + Lamb New Zealand (B+LNZ) suggests land of value for food production remains at risk.
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