Why saying toodle-pip to plastic in the produce aisle is not as easy as it looks

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

It takes more than a month to save the planet

Plastic Free July is over, but Josie Adams is still fighting for the environment. After a month of minimising plastics, emissions and even recyclables, she reflects on what she’s learned. You can read the first three diary entries here, here, and here. July has ended and so has my time as New Zealand’s most formidable … Read more

The shopping bag repurposing parachutes and plastic bottles

The Lightbulb asks innovators and entrepreneurs how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Aaron Jones, founder of Christchurch-based reusable bag company Zerobag. First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Zerobag. Zerobag is a New Zealand-owned company started 10 years ago that specialises in locally designed, high-quality, long-life reusable … Read more

Five things to ban next for a greener New Zealand

From last Monday, single-use plastic bags are banned in New Zealand. To keep the ball rolling, here are five more things we could look at banning. The hotly-debated plastic bag ban came into effect last Monday, aligning New Zealand with the likes of the EU, the UK, Peru, and other nations with bans on single-use … Read more

Low waste living is hard AF

It’s Plastic Free July but Josie Adams is taking it a step further, attempting to be as low-waste as possible – minimising plastics, emissions and even recyclables. This is the first instalment of her diary tracking the challenge. It’s fair to say I’m lower-waste than your average Joe. I drive maybe once a month, and … Read more

The beeswax wrap providing an alternative to single-use plastic

In our Q&A series, The Lightbulb, we ask innovators and entrepreneurs to tell us about how they turned their ideas into reality. This week we talk to Honeywrap co-founder Tara McQuinn, makers of organic fabric beeswax wraps. First of all, give us your elevator pitch for Honeywrap. Honeywrap is a beeswax wrap made with organic cotton. … Read more

Out-of-packaging experience: The rise of the plastic-free retailer

Refilleries such as GoodFor and Be Free Grocer say their time has come, with consumers from Ponsonby to Palmerston North seeking a zero-waste option. Horror stories such as sea turtles being found with hundred of pieces of plastic in their gut are shocking people into realising the planet will slowly strangle if we don’t stop … Read more