Wānaka’s plastic free impact

Plastic Free July has officially come to a close, and what a month it’s been. From bathroom swaps to plastic free pledges, our community came together to take action, try something new, and support each other in reducing single-use plastics. 

We kicked off the month with a launch event, alongside the legends at WAI Wānaka and SUCfree Wānaka. Attendees pledged to join the Plastic Free July movement by sharing a swap or action they were going to try. From trying out refilleries to remembering their reusable cups, it was a great reminder that small changes can add up to something powerful. 

At our local libraries, we held beeswax wraps workshops, which went down a treat with tamariki. Over the hill, our friends at Sustainable Queenstown hosted a brilliant Plastic Free Night Market. 

We wrapped it all up with a feel-good afterhours event at Wastebusters, where sustainability advocate Nicola King shared tips from her own journey of going plastic free in the bathroom. There was a great kōrero and plenty of inspiration to take home. From the survey responses we’ve received, attendees are on track to reduce their plastic use by an estimated 2820 items this year. 

Plastic Free July is about progress, not perfection. We know that reducing plastic isn’t always straightforward – it can take time, trial and error and a wee bit of persistence. But it’s worth it. And the best part? You’re not going it alone. 

Together, we’ve been part of a global movement of over 100 million people. That really is something to be proud of. 

As part of our local Plastic Free July Campaign, we’re now asking anyone who joined in (whether you nailed your goals or gave up halfway through, no judgement here!), to fill in our quick survey. Your responses will help us calculate our collective impact across the region. 

Fill in the survey here.

So what’s next?

Keep going. Keep experimenting. Keep talking about it. Small actions add up to make a big difference. 

If you’re after a little inspiration in the kitchen, here are some of our favourite low waste recipes we shared at our final event: Dahl, rocket pesto, yogurt and chickpea crackers. Get the recipes here. 

Thanks to everyone who came along, made a swap, shared a post, or simply gave something a go. You’ve made an impact, and we’re stoked to have done it alongside you. 

This Resourceful Communities campaign was proudly supported by Queenstown Lakes District Council’s Zero Waste District Programme. #ResourcefulCommunities #PlasticFreeJuly

plastic free july launch event

From our General Manager - Na Tō Tātou Kaiwhakahaere

This year our amazing Wastebusters whānau has been busy keeping everything we can out of landfill and supporting resourcefulness in our community while also working on bringing our dream of Wastebusters 2.0 into reality.

We were humbled and absolutely stoked to take home the Wānaka Chamber of Commerce Business Awards Supreme Business Award, along with the Community Contribution and Business Sustainability awards. This success was a powerful recognition of the dedicated mahi of our entire team, giving us huge confidence for the ambitious journey ahead.

We welcomed Aviette Musin on a fixed-term contract as our new Programme Manager for Wastebusters 2.0. Her expertise provided the dedicated, focused capacity needed to accelerate progress on this strategic goal.

Funding was secured through Queenstown Lakes Community Composting Project for the Compost Collect pilot, a joint venture with our neighbours Wānaka Greenwaste that will turn commercial food scraps into valuable compost, launching in 2026. We also intensified our focus on Construction and Demolition (C&D) materials, trialling diversion methodology and securing initial partnerships to divert waste from landfill. With our current site so space-constrained, we are extremely limited in the C&D materials which can be accepted for reuse, but this work will lay the groundwork for future diversion on a bigger site.

We made a compelling case to the Council for the necessary land expansion for Wastebusters 2.0 and prepared for the MfE Waste Minimisation Fund application process to support our expansion plans. 

A continued focus for us this year has been on strengthening the Wastebusters whānau and ensuring we are equipped not just for the daily challenges, but for future growth. We continued to be a Living Wage employer, reflecting our commitment to the well-being and value of our staff. Feedback from the team via staff survey results highlighted strong morale and resilience within our workplace culture with 89% saying they enjoy working at Wastebusters and 93% feeling cared for by their manager. 

The district’s rapid growth brings challenges as well as opportunities, particularly the Ballantyne Road/Riverbank Road roadworks which demanded flexibility and good humour from our team and customers throughout 2024. Despite the road cones, ongoing community support ensured our Reuse Shop continued to be a first choice destination for both locals and visitors. Improved donation flows and adding new changing rooms has made the shop operation smoother and more efficient for everyone.

Wastebusters’ partnership with events continues to go from strength to strength: including the trial of a food scraps collection from vendors. And our Recycle team did the huge job of relabeling all our events recycling bins to align with national recycling colours, making it easier for event-goers to know what to do. Wastebusters recycling trucks continue to be a much-loved presence in town servicing our 408 business customers, with the team doing a great job of keeping our aging fleet serviceable, in line with our kaupapa of keeping resources in use for as long as possible. 

Our Reduce team has continued to deliver exceptional impact, with more than 11,000 people engaged in person through our education and engagement in the community. The Resourceful Communities programme inspires our community to take action and builds the knowledge and know how to engage in areas like repair, low waste living and textile waste diversion. It is proudly supported by QLDC’s zero waste district’s programme which recognises the impact of community connection for zero waste action. 

We were stoked to join Environment Hubs Aotearoa, and we look forward to collaborating with this network and amplifying our collective impact on environmental action and resourcefulness across Aotearoa.

We worked with an impact consultant to implement an evaluation framework and behaviour change model to better plan, deliver and measure our impact, and have begun rolling out our learnings across all our programmes.

It was a busy year in advocacy, starting with participation in QLDC’s Waste Management and Minimisation Plan process. We appreciated QLDC’s approach in bringing Wastebusters and other stakeholders in early in the process, which has resulted in a constructive plan for the next six years. Wastebusters has also made submissions on national and local level, including The Right to Repair Bill, the Container Return Scheme and the publicly notified resource consent for McDonald’s in Wānaka.

Ultimately, this year has been about delivering impact while building the foundations for a much larger and even more impactful operation, securing Wastebusters’ future for our community. The heart of our work remains resource recovery and community engagement, and we enter the next 25 years of zero waste leadership with great confidence, welcome community support and an unwavering focus. 

Gina Dempster

General Manager

November 2025

wastebusters yard team summer fair 2024

Wastebusters Community Survey is live!

Let us know what you love & what we could do better & you’ll go into the draw to win a $250 restaurant voucher!

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