| Mahurangimatters 15 August 201220

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A free Auckland Council service is helping residents to incorporate sustainable design into new homes, extensions and retrofits through ready access to comprehensive, independent advice.Eco design advisor Eion Scott works with homeowners, builders, designers and the trade, helping them to build healthy, energy-efficient, water-efficient houses, with better quality indoor environments, lower-impact materials and less waste. The service is currently run at six councils and deals with all kinds of housing, from new, high spec eco-sensitive homes, to old and sometimes historic buildings, that he says wouldn’t come close to meeting modern building code standards.Top interventions nationally are ceiling insulation, underfloor insulation, bathroom extractors, energy-efficient lighting, solar or heat pump hot water systems, and double or secondary glazing, while Aucklanders are also particularly interested in reducing dampness.Eion says getting houses up to reasonable health and comfort levels often involves a combination of measures, and independence is key, as conflicting information from companies vying for trade can lead to misconceptions.“People often think a single $3500 system can solve all their problems when, in fact, it can’t,” he says. “We look at the whole building and how various aspects of it interact and affect each other.

Free advice encourages sustainable approach in homes

“Usually a number of things should be done.“When we give advice, we prioritise what people want to do within their budgets and how they can best solve their problems to achieve the dream green home that they want.”Te Hana’s Michelle Donald got help with two homes

Te Hana’s Katherine Wescott checks out the underfloor insulation that’s helped to improve her health.

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on her property, one built in 1845. She says Eion’s site visit enabled her to discuss options without the pressure of “a hard sell”. The result was ceiling and underfloor insulation, installed at no cost to her under the Snug Homes Scheme, which has made

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Mahurangimatters 15 August 2012 | 2121

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Plant a notionGoing green doesn’t have to mean making radical life changes. Sparing a thought for the environment during everyday tasks can make a big difference. y Turning computers off instead of leaving it in sleep mode can save up to 40 watt-hours per day, adding up to four cents a day or $14 a year.

y Unless the oven is being used to make bread or pastries, don’t pre-heat it. Instead, turn it on when placing a dish in.

y Nearly 90 percent of plastic water bottles are not recycled, instead taking thousands of years to decompose. Buy a reusable container and fill it with tap water.

y Most lighters are made out of plastic and filled with butane fuel, both petroleum products. Since most lighters are considered ‘disposable,’ more than 1.5 billion end up in landfills each year. When choosing matches, pick cardboard over wood. Wood matches come from trees, whereas most cardboard matches are made from recycled paper.

Source: 50waystohelp.com

Free Council advice from page 20

a significant difference to comfort levels, reducing both heating needs and the asthma symptoms of her adult son and daughter. A report also recommended other improvements which could be made over time and can potentially be funded through Council’s Retrofit Your Home scheme. Eion says generally, the more you invest up front, the lower the running costs will be and the less carbon you produce over the building’s lifetime. The earlier advice is sought the better, especially if building or renovating.

“We even like to comment when you’ve just bought a section and we can see a clean slate and help to design something perfectly, as much as the section will allow.”Auckland residents and designers can receive up to two hours of free information and advice. Time can be any combination of meetings on site, at the council, the designer’s or client’s premises, and email or phone time. For more details and useful internet links see this article online at www.localmatters.co.nz or visit www.ecodesignadvisor.org.nz

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| Mahurangimatters 15 August 201222

WARKWORTHAUTO WRECKERS

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One of the oldest forms of recycling or resource recovery is the scrap metal industry.Warkworth Auto Wreckers, in Glenmore Drive, have been in the business for 25 years and process about 200 vehicles annually. However, co-owner Nick Sharp says what a lot of people don’t realise is that they also take all forms of whiteware, old batteries, corrugated iron and boat trailers.“In terms of the cars, the first step is to remove anything that can be re-sold – lights, batteries, radiator, window glass, mag wheels and so on,” he says.“The vehicle is also drained of all fluids. We send away around 1000 litres of waste oil a month and most of it’s used to heat greenhouses.“What’s left is sent to Sims’ shredder in Auckland and reprocessed into products such as construction-type steel and fencing wire.”Nick says the range of models on the road is a challenge for wreckers’ yards. “There’s about three million licensed vehicles on the road today, with more than 65,000 variations to makes and models. Twenty years ago there would have been around 10,000 variations.”To help solve the problem of such a wide range, Warkworth Wreckers is part of a parts network that links around

Unlike most other recyclables, scrap metals have an almost never-ending life cycle, allowing it to be recycled over and over again. Pictured in the Warkworth Wreckers yard is co-owner Nick Smith.

Recycling practices nothing new for scrap metal industry

300 wreckers nationwide. Prices and availability can be checked, and the part couriered overnight if necessary.The scrap metal industry is also one of New Zealand’s largest export earners, valued in excess of $100 million a year.Recycling scrap metal has some major

benefits for the environment. It helps to cut greenhouse gas emissions, saves energy and protects the depletion of natural resources.Significantly less energy is required to produce steel products from recycled scrap metal than from virgin ore.

Recycling facts and figures: y Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely as reprocessing does not damage its structure. Aluminium is also the most cost-effective material to recycle.

y Recycling 1kg of aluminium saves up to 6kg of bauxite, 4kg of chemical products and 14 kWh of electricity – enough to power a TV for three hours.

y Two-thirds of all cans on supermarkets shelves are made from steel. They have a very thin layer of tin that protects the surface of the can.

y Every tonne of steel packaging that is recycled saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and reduces air emissions by 86 percent.

y Steel scrap is essential in the process of making new steel and can be recycled indefinitely without losing its quality. Most new steel products use at least 25 percent of recycled steel in their production.

y Copper products such as spouting, hot water cylinders and cable are the most commonly reported stolen scrap metal items. However, manhole covers and even rubbish bins have also been targeted.

Source: Scrap Metal Recycling Assn NZ

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A popular part-time course in Organic Horticulture, delivered by Agriculture New Zealand, is now being offered in Warkworth. (A second course may also run in Helensville if numbers permit). The course explores the latest trends in sustainable farming, both internationally and in New Zealand. The overall aim is to build ecosystems, promote biodiversity, increase soil and plant health, and avoid the use of artificial fertilisers and sprays.A science-based approach is used to separate myth from fact, while exploring a wide range of organic techniques and systems. Topics covered include organic principles and philosophies, soil management, soil food-webs, composting, companion planting, crop rotation, green manures, organic weed, pest and disease management, general plant knowledge and an introduction to Permaculture.This knowledge can be applied not only to food crops, but also to the cultivation of any plants - from suburban gardens to pastures, orchards, shelterbelts or woodlots. The course will therefore appeal to gardening enthusiasts of all ages as well as growers, farmers, orchardists and lifestyle-block owners. Organic philosophies also embrace principles of kaitiakitanga - which may interest Tangata whenua involved with land management. As well as attending lively and interactive tutorials, the chance to network between organic growing enthusiasts is an added bonus to joining this course.The course is based on NZQA unit standards and successful students will gain a formal qualification. In addition to attending tutorials, workshops or fieldtrips once a week, students will need to complete practical and theory assignments in their own time. For more information phone Agriculture New Zealand at 0800 475 455 or visit our website www.agnz.co.nz

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The ability to save money by producing food at home is fuelling an increasing interest in permaculture, according to Sustainable Habitats landscape designer and environmental consultant Daniel Tohill.Daniel, who is based at the Kaiwaka Organics Heritage Garden Centre, has worked for more than 20 years as a landscape designer and environmental consultant. He says as the cost of living has increased, more people have taken an interest in learning how to live a more sustainable lifestyle.“People are becoming more health conscious and are starting to pay attention to where their food comes from and how it is made,” he says. “They are also interested in saving money by producing their own food.” Daniel says permaculture is a holistic approach to living a sustainable lifestyle. It incorporates many elements such as growing produce commercially, home gardening, architecture, understanding ecological and biological systems, alternative economies and technologies, agriculture, soil science and how all of these are interconnected. It also includes ecological design and engineering, which model natural ecosystems.“I work with a lot of farmers who are looking for alternative ways to make money from their land. It’s about effective land management.

Permaculture gains support

“However, it isn’t restricted to those who have a large piece of land. People who live in urban areas can also take small steps to live more sustainably. Permaculture provides people with a number of life skills. Being a producer instead of a consumer is very empowering.”Daniel’s work takes him all over the country and current projects include working on the concept design of small permaculture farms in Kaiwaka and Christchurch, as well as a land production plan for market gardens on the Waikato River. He is a member of the Permaculture Institute of NZ and runs educational courses at the Kaiwaka garden centre and other locations. The centre is offering a number of courses over the next few months including cheese making, gardening for beginners, bee keeping and how to build a pizza oven.Info: www.kaiwakaorganics.co.nz

Daniel Tohill

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