One of the core commitments of LPC’s Environmental Policy is to reduce waste through reduction, reuse and recycling and finding ways to use resources more efficiently.

In recent years, our focus has been on understanding and quantifying our waste.

We now have monthly waste reporting for each operational area.

This provides essential insight into where we create the most waste, the types of waste we create and opportunities to improve.

As well as the benefit of regular reporting, we have made some notable achievements in terms of waste reduction over the past year.

Straddle tyres

The LPC Maintenance team, working in collaboration with consultant Tyre Innovations, has continued to make improvements in waste associated with our straddle tyres.

One innovation that has had a significant effect has been trialling half of our new Noell straddle fleet with a larger style of tyre.

The larger tyres have proven to be more durable and need replacing less often, hence reducing LPC’s overall tyre waste.

A further benefit of the larger tyres is that they have been found to reduce the straddle’s fuel usage by about 10%.

A reduction in fuel means a reduction in carbon emissions.

Given that up to 47% of LPC’s carbon emissions are attributed to straddles, these improvements are likely to make a significant contribution in reducing LPC’s carbon footprint.

Spout milk

Waste reduction can sometimes stem from serendipitous rather than planned initiatives. In 2021, an LPC team member suggested tapping in to a local start-up called Spout.

Spout delivers milk to businesses in refillable kegs instead of plastic bottles. In this programme, Spout deliver kegs of milk to our head office, Waterfront House, which is then distributed around all LPC sites in reusable glass bottles.

In our first year of using Spout, we estimate that the programme has avoided approximately 10,000 plastic milk bottles.

There is also less wastage of the milk itself, since fridges no longer become cluttered with forgotten, expired milk bottles.

The milk Spout supplies to us is produced and pasteurised on a Springston farm, which supports local business and minimises travel miles.

Our uptake of Spout milk shows that small changes can make a big difference and that the impetus for change can come from anywhere.

We continue to use Spout and support a team culture that is receptive to and proactive about making changes that make a difference for nature.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) waste solutions

Rehoming PPE is another area where we have an opportunity to reduce our waste.

This year, we donated a large quantity of white overalls to the Christchurch City Council Off The Wall graffiti programme.

The overalls, which were deemed unsuitable for LPC operations, were distributed amongst programme volunteers for use in graffiti removal across Christchurch.

We continue to investigate further PPE repurposing and recycling options as they arise.