Xtreme Waste

Xtreme Zero Waste is a non-profit organization dedicated to recycling and based in the town of Raglan, New Zealand.[1] In 2014 it was rebranded from Xtreme Waste.[2] According to its mission statement, its goal is to create a waste management system for the Raglan/Whaingaroa community in which none of the trash would be stored in landfills.[3]

Xtreme Waste operates a recycling center in Raglan. This center is open to the public on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and on Saturday from 12:30-4:30 PM.[1] Group tours are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays and are free for groups in the Waikato District area, with fees for other groups available upon inquiry.[4] Xtreme Waste provides miniskips, truck delivery services, waste and recycling services and consultancies, and educational programs.[5]

The organization was founded in 2000, after Raglan's landfill closed and the town decided to find an alternative to transporting all its waste to a tip in the Waikato. Since 2000, it has recycled an increasing volume and percentage of waste every year. As of 2010, Xtreme Waste prevents over 70% of the community's waste from reaching the landfill and employs 24 workers part-time.[6]

Xtreme Waste staff talk to David Bellamy in 2009 outside the Kaahu's Nest recycling shop.

The organization has won numerous awards, including a 2002 Waikato Business and Environment Award, a 2005 Waikatari City Council "Change Catalyst" Award, a 2005 New Zealand Ministry for the Environment's "Green Ribbon" Award and a 2006 Sustainable Business Network "Social Responsibility" Award.[6] In 2010, Xtreme Waste was one of three New Zealand recycling projects to be funded by the New Zealand Government's Waste Minimization Fund, receiving a $21,740 grant.[7] Most of the grant money will be used for a study determining the feasibility of converting organic waste, particularly food waste, to compost. The study is projected to be complete by June 2011, after which Xtreme Waste will decide whether it will go ahead with a trial.[8] The grant was announced in November 2010 by Nick Smith, New Zealand's Minister for the Environment[7] and the trial started in 2012 with 100 houses in Raglan West.[9] In 2015 the food waste collection was included in a new 5-year contract, with a provision to move the funding to a targeted rate.[10]

Actor and Raglan resident Antonio Te Maioha has publicly spoken about Xtreme Waste's accomplishments and his own involvement in Raglan's recycling program.[11]

As part of its education programme, Xtreme has run a recycled raft race since 2004.[12]

References
  1. Xtreme Waste homepage
  2. Raglan Chronicle 27 Feb 2014
  3. Mission statement of Xtreme Waste
  4. Xtreme Waste Archived 3 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine page on Sustainable Greenlist Directory
  5. Services offered by Xtreme Waste
  6. Xtreme Waste page on Prometheus Finance Ltd. website Archived 14 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  7. Recycling initiatives get Government boost. Archived 24 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine M2 PressWIRE, 3 November 2010.
  8. Recycling organisation to use grant money for research. Radio New Zealand broadcast, 4 November 2010.
  9. Xtreme website - food waste
  10. "Approve Selected Supplier – Raglan Zero Waste Contract 15/111". Waikato District Council. p. 5. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015.
  11. Video of Antonio Te Maioha speaking about Xtreme Waste and Raglan's recycling program
  12. Xtreme Zero Waste logo and information about 2015 raft race
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