A $150,000 donation of fence posts and rails will provide a boost to recovery efforts in communities of the North Island, impacted by severe storms and floods since January this year.
Seven truck and trailers will deliver more than 7,000 fence posts to communities of Wairoa, Gisborne and the Hauraki Rail Trail from this week. The donation will contribute to the restoration of more than 30 kilometres of fencing.
The donation has been made possible through funding from The Packaging Forum and several of its scheme members including, Essity, Griffins, James Crisp, Mondelēz, Nestle, Pepsico, Sanitarium and Woolworths. The posts are made from recycled soft plastics, including soft plastics collected through the Forum’s Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme (SPRS).
“Some of these communities have had a tough start to the year, with storms and floods causing significant damage to pastures, paddocks, fencelines and walking trails,” Packaging Forum CEO Craig Miller says.
“We are incredibly appreciative of the members that are working with us to make this donation happen.
“This initiative reflects the strength of collaboration across our membership. Together, we’re able to take materials that would otherwise go to landfill and transform them into something that delivers real, tangible benefit for communities facing significant recovery challenges.”
More than 1,800 fence posts will be delivered to Ruatoria, near Gisborne, supporting farmers in the hardest hit areas of Hicks Bay and Te Araroa. The Forum is working with Gisborne Council and Gisborne Rural Advisory Group to facilitate the process.
More than 1,800 fence posts will be delivered to Wairoa, supporting properties and projects impacted by flooding in January. The Forum is working with FIRST72 and the Wairoa District Council and Rural Advisory Group to facilitate the process.
Almost 4,000 fence posts and rails will be delivered to Paeroa, to restore a section of the Hauraki Rail Trail, which was severely damaged in January. The Trail, one of the 23 Ngā Haerenga Great Rides of New Zealand, suffered severe damage during Cyclone Gabrielle in 2023, prompting a monumental recovery effort by Trail organisers and volunteers over the past two years to repair and future-proof the track.
Manufactured by New Zealand business Future Post, the donated post products are made from 100 per cent recycled plastic waste, including soft plastic collected through the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme bins at supermarkets around New Zealand. Each fence post contains approximately 1,500 soft plastic bags and wrappers, meaning this donation diverts more than 10.5 million soft plastic bags from landfill, or 68 tonnes of soft plastic waste.
The Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme is a voluntary product stewardship programme, operated by the Packaging Forum, and is 100 per cent funded by its 250+ Scheme members. An estimated 87% of New Zealanders now have access to soft plastic recycling, within 20km of home or work, at more than 320 public drop off points across the country.
There are several drop off locations in the wider Paeroa, Gisborne and Waihi regions, to find out where, visit here.
The organisations (‘Donors’) that have contributed to the donation are:
- Essity
- Griffins
- James Crisp
- Mondelēz
- Nestle
- Pepsico
- Sanitarium
- Woolworths
- The Packaging Forum
