Watching their waste

Dunedin Public Library staff have tackled their wasteful ways, reducing their rubbish by 67% over the past six years.

A recent audit, conducted over a week, revealed 51% of the library's waste was general, 22% was recyclable and 26% was compostable. That equated to 12.5kg of general waste, 5.6kg recyclable and 6.3kg compostable, for every full-time equivalent staff member per year.

There was an overall improvement of 7% from last year and 67% since audits started in 2006.

Staff aimed to reduce this before the next audit.

Regular audits and other clear statistics about types of waste had positive effects on the way library staff treated their rubbish.

Bookbus staff now had paper recycling bins on each bus and the "other" rubbish bin was tucked away and less accessible.

Team leader Jo Bailey said staff were "a lot more aware of what we are putting in the rubbish bin.

"Our office paper recycling has increased exponentially, with a huge decrease in the use of the rubbish bin," she said.

 

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