WHAT IS MAHURANGI WASTEBUSTERS AND WHAT DOES IT DO?
Mahurangi Wastebusters Ltd. (Mahurangi) is a social enterprise operating in north Rodney, Auckland; its focus is on reducing waste to landfill. Its aim is to support a circular economy and reduce the negative impact of waste on the environment through diverting waste from landfill. Mahurangi manages two community recycling centres in Warkworth and Wellsford for Auckland Council; it serves 25,000 people and diverts as much material as possible from landfill through reuse or recycling.
Mahurangi handles 19 different waste streams and works with numerous partners to recycle and reuse people’s waste. Materials that can be reused are sold in Mahurangi’s onsite shops, online, or donated to local charity stores. Recyclable items are sent to wholesalers for further processing.
Mahurangi’s model actively enables behaviour change to reduce waste. When people drop off waste, they are assisted by Mahurangi staff, who inform them about sorting waste, recycling, and re-use. Mahurangi also runs regular waste minimisation events and education workshops on topics such as worm farming or upcycling.
THE MAHURANGI BUSINESS MODEL
Auckland Council pays Mahurangi for its waste management services. Mahurangi also earns revenue from the sale of recovered items and this revenue funds Mahurangi’s less profitable activities which support community engagement, behaviour change, and waste diversion. Mahurangi runs as a joint venture with the Zero Waste Network, meaning it is able to leverage substantial technical experience in waste minimisation to ensure the operation is successful. Mahurangi’s business model has been replicated by 60 other community-led resource and recovery centres in New Zealand.
“The magic of Mahurangi Wastebusters, and community enterprises like ours, is that we help Auckland Council spend the same dollar at least twice through the social and environmental benefits we generate. We provide double the waste services we are contracted to, The Living Wage is our minimum wage, we employ three times as many staff as the previous contractor, divert 50% of the waste we receive from landfill, and we prioritise spending with other local suppliers to keep the money in the community longer!”
– MATTHEW LUXON, DIRECTOR OF MAHURANGI WASTEBUSTERS
THE IMPACT OF MAHURANGI
Key outcomes from Mahurangi’s work are:
Diverting waste from landfill. Diversion reduces the negative environmental impacts of landfills for current and future generations and the impact of leachate, CO2 and methane emissions in particular; diversion also reduces the need for new landfill sites.
Capturing materials from the waste stream. This activity reduces the need to extract virgin materials from the earth.
Creating jobs in the recycling and reuse industries;
Changing public behaviour so that more people take steps to minimise their waste and buy re-used or upcycled products rather than new products; and
Developing community empowerment and resilience.
EVIDENCE OF IMPACT
Mahurangi’s latest impact report shows that it:
Handles 35 tonnes of material each week and diverts 42% of waste received from landfill.
Handles 8 tonnes of green waste per week, 100% of which is diverted to make compost.
Employs nine people.