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.
A major feature of the Ashburton A&P Show, to be held on October 31 and November 1, will be the annual trans-Tasman Sheep Dog Trial test match, with the best heading dogs from both sides of the Tasman going head-to-head in two teams of four.
Fewer bobby calves are heading to the works this season, as more dairy farmers recognise the value of rearing calves for beef.
The key to a dairy system that generates high profit with a low emissions intensity is using low footprint feed, says Fonterra program manager on-farm excellence, Louise Cook.
Rural retailer Farmlands has reported a return to profitability, something the co-operative says shows clear progress in the second year of its five-year strategy.
According to a new report, the Safer Rides initiative, which offered farmers heavily discounted crush protection devices (CPDs) for quad bikes, has made a significant impact in raising awareness and action around farm vehicle safety.
OPINION: In the past weeks, much has been said and written about one of New Zealand's greatest prime ministers, James Brendan Bolger, who died just a few months after his 90th birthday.