Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he’s joined by Foodprint founder and CEO Michal Garvey. Food waste is such a massive problem that it’s hard to fully … Read more
It’s not a binary choice of one or the other, writes Brian Cox, who says the two technologies can work together for the good of the environment. In an opinion piece titled “Why industrial anaerobic digestion is not the answer to food waste”, Kate Walmsley argued that composting provides better environmental and societal outcomes than … Read more
New Zealand’s first commercial bioenergy facility has been lauded as a sustainable way to deal with the nation’s food waste. It’s anything but, says community composter Kate Walmsley. A couple of weeks ago, it was announced that construction was starting on Aotearoa’s first commercial bioenergy facility, owned by Ecogas. Many people might see this as … Read more
Everyday huge volumes of unsold supermarket food go to waste. That’s why a baker, a brewer, a chef and an innovator are collaborating to rescue as much as possible and turn it into something new and tasty. Beer is a simple product – there isn’t a whole lot you can do to improve its core … Read more
Returning nutrients to the soil was once part of every culture, and now, more than ever, it’s time we restore its valuable role in everyday life. Like keep cups, organic cotton tote bags and eco-friendly cleaning products, composting can at times seem like a new trend latched on to by sustainability-obsessed millennials trying to up … Read more
Scary amounts of food are being dumped by the commercial food industry on a daily basis. In 2014, Katy Barfield decided to do something about it by founding Yume, an online B-to-B marketplace for surplus food. Here are five important points from her recent talk in Auckland. Three thousand cartons of Coco Pops. Nearly five … Read more
Business is Boring is a weekly podcast series presented by The Spinoff in association with Callaghan Innovation. Host Simon Pound speaks with innovators and commentators focused on the future of New Zealand. This week he talks to Andrea Watson, Sparrows CEO and founder, and Simon Yarrow, who leads Callaghan Innovation’s agritech team. Agricultural exports are … Read more
Last week Nick Loosley, founder of food waste and food poverty charity Everybody Eats, was named the 2020 Kiwibank New Zealand Local Hero of the Year. He talked to Alex Braae about how a more sustainable approach to our food system can help feed those in need. There’s a theme of reconnection that runs through … Read more
Are you a time-poor urban apartment-dweller who’s put composting in the too-hard basket? Read on… About half of what Aucklanders chuck in their rubbish bins is actually compostable material. That means a whopping 90,000 tonnes of Auckland households’ food waste ends up in landfill each year. Why is that a problem? It breaks down without … Read more
Three Countdown stores are currently trialling drastically reducing plastic from their fruit and veg… but it’s a solution that comes with problems of its own. Ah, plastic. The synthetic material we love to hate. In a world where many of the biggest contributors to the climate crisis are not exactly easy to give up – … Read more
Auckland Council recently announced a citywide food scrap collection scheme that will be kicking off in 2021. Most of us already know the main gist of composting, but what’s happening to this waste? What will I have to pay? And can I opt out if I don’t need it? New Zealanders waste enough food every … Read more
Pay-as-you-feel dining concept Everybody Eats, which uses food that would otherwise go to waste, has found a permanent home in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga. Founder Nick Loosley explains how it’s about so much more than taking on food waste. “We’re increasingly disconnected,” says Nick Loosley. “We don’t really gather as a community any more. … Read more
Dietary Requirements is The Spinoff’s monthly podcast in which we eat, drink and talk about it too, with special thanks to Freedom Farms. This month we’re joined by Nick Loosley of pay-as-you-feel dining concept Everybody Eats. To listen, use the player below or download this episode (right click and save). Make sure to subscribe via iTunes, or via your favourite podcast … Read more
Transforming food scraps into a nutrient-rich climate-change fighter is dependent on keeping it in the neighbourhood, according to the people behind a new composting initiative. It’s sweet to chuck this apple core under that bush over there, right? It’ll return to the earth and nourish the soil… surely? Sorry, but that’s not how compost works … Read more
Inspired by the ethos of food-rescue organisation Kaibosh, chef Kelda Hains looked to the past to champion unloved ingredients and showcase clever waste-minimising techniques at her All Taste, No Waste dinner during Visa Wellington On a Plate. Ever glanced at those supermarket bags of pre-cut broccoli florets and wondered what happens to the stalks? Kelda … Read more
Reducing food waste is a win-win solution for everyone as less food goes to landfill and more food goes to those who need it. So what’s being done to make this a reality? And what can you do to help? In 2020, New Zealand will vote in a general election with poverty and climate change … Read more
OK, so we’ve got rid of plastic bags. But what about all the other stuff? Phasing plastic packaging out is a mammoth task, but some of the industry’s main players are working hard to promote change. Next time you’re at your local supermarket, have a look around. Go up and down each aisle and have … Read more
Composting plays a huge role in the fight against climate change, but how do we inspire people to actually do it? Dr Niki Harre doesn’t talk about behaviour change when it comes to sustainability. Instead, she talks about cultural transformation, the likes of which we’re seeing play out before our eyes. This transformation is what … Read more
New World announced this week they’re giving away plastic containers, and man oh man, the internet went wild. But was the hysteria justified? Oh plastic, plastic, plastic. Who knew this one flimsy material could cause so much of an online furore in 2018? On Monday, New World announced the launch of its new collectables initiative: … Read more
Meet the UK chef inspiring his Kiwi counterparts with a radical approach to food waste. At Silo Brighton, Doug McMaster binned the bin. More accurately, the English chef binned the concept of the bin — there’s never been one at his restaurant, which opened four years ago in the heart of the famous seaside town. … Read more
One third of all food produced is thrown away, at the same time as one billion people go hungry. Simon Day met some of the people trying to fix our broken food system. On Monday evenings, when most Auckland restaurants rest, Gemmayze St is consistently host to more than 200 customers. While the award winning … Read more