Zero Waste Granny

Hon. John Carter
Mayor
Far North District Council
Memorial Avenue
Private Bag 752
KAIKOHE 0440

3rd January 2018

Dear John

Will Ecostar certification for each FNDC office be your New Year’s resolution?

I hear more and more concern – from people in the Far North both in person and online.  People are becoming more anxious about the amount of rubbish they create, that they see dumped in the bush, that they see being burnt and wasted and how there is a lack of focus by FNDC on helping we the people of the Far North to create less rubbish. People want to change, people are concerned, people up here care about the whenua and moana.

If we the people of the Far North are to move forward this year in embracing kaitiakitanga and becoming a region connected to and regenerating our natural world, we need leadership.  Who better to lead this than you?

John, I ask that you resolve to take a new year’s step to have the FNDC lead by example with each FNDC office and department team achieving the Ecostar Award, beginning with your own. Is there any reason each office and department can’t achieve this by Easter 2018 if you both role model and request?

http://ecostar.org.nz/ :  “The Far North District Council is committed to waste minimisation in the region and has set targets for the area to reach in its Waste Minimisation Strategy.  To help reach those goals the Council has initiated the ecostar award to promote and recognise achievements in this area. The ecostar provides organisations with a structured process for the development, implementation and maintenance of a waste minimisation plan. The ecostar can then be gained by successfully passing an on-site audit from the Council’s approved, third-party verifiers, CBEC EcoSolutions. Current and certified members can then use their ecostar credentials as proof of their progress in implementing an effective waste minimisation plan and working towards sustainability.”

I sincerely believe that FNDC staff teams will come on board because buried deep within the spirit of each person here in the Far North is concern for our natural world. Every Far North resident needs and deserves the natural joy that comes from the guardianship of Papatuanuku and to jointly care for the future wellbeing of the next generation. We want to be known as respectful guardians and caring citizens and no longer want to accept being branded as powerless ‘council workers’ or mindless ‘consumers’.   Our hearts and spirits are ready to open to a more meaningful future and we need to be shown the way step by step.

I am enclosing two small gifts for you personally, a re-usable coffee cup so you never again need to accept a disposable cup and a desk top waste box because removing the waste bin under your desk is a smart first step to focus on how to reduce your landfill footprint from your office. My wish is that each of these will daily support you and remind you of how role modelling small steps is how social change starts.

As FNDC role models its commitment to kaitiakitanga by achieving Ecostar accreditation office by office, department by department, I firmly believe it will become the start of wider change. We the people of the Far North need guidance to move from creating rubbish to valuing and looking after resources  – we are ready for change, we want to change, we need you to lead us.

Meanwhile, with two others, I am working to put a water drinking and bottle refilling fountain into the Paihia waterfront to reduce plastic bottle purchases. We are doing what we can, can you please do your bit too?

Hei konā mai i roto i ngā mihi /Goodbye for now & thank you

Jane

(letter as mailed to Hon John Carter this week).