SDG 12 – Responsible Consumption and Production

Zero Waste campus

Massey University has an ambitious and aspirational goal of being a Zero Waste Campus. To help achieve this goal, the university measures waste sent to landfill compared to waste recycled. Massey has two waste reduction goals in its Climate Action Plan.

60 per cent diversion from landfill by 2025
90 per cent diversion from landfill by 2030

Currently, around one-quarter of the university's waste is recycled – cardboard, paper, glass, plastic and composting of food and organic waste (for example, paper towels and compostable cups and plates).

In 2022, there was an 11 per cent decrease in the total waste sent to landfill. However, the proportion of recycled waste decreased from 26.6 per cent to 24.8 per cent.

In 2022, 549 tonnes of waste went to landfill, and 181 tonnes was recycled – 24.8 per cent of all waste.
In 2021, 617 tonnes of waste went to landfill, and 224 tonnes were recycled – 26.6 per cent of all waste.

In 2022, recycled waste comprised:

138 tonnes of cardboard/paper
18 tonnes of comingled recycling (plastic, cans and tins)
12 tonnes of glass
12 tonnes of compost - food and organic waste
1 tonne of plastic

Food waste comes from the university's dining halls and cafeterias.

Congratulations to Massey's Auckland campus library team – one of 11 Green Impact teams this year. The Auckland campus library is almost zero-waste-to-landfill due to initiatives like ensuring that all food scraps are either composted or sent to the team worm farm.

Massey University Climate Action Plan 2021 to 2023 (PDF, 1.6 MB)

Green Impact

Reduction of single-use plastics and disposable items

The university updated its Procurement Policy in 2022 to increase focus on responsible procurement and maximise economic, environmental, cultural and social values of purchases.

The new policy prioritises purchases that minimise waste and reductions in the use of both plastic and disposable items.

Lots of great initiatives are already happening.

Massey's dining halls

Disposable cups, cutlery, straws, plates and takeaway containers are all made from compostable materials.
Washable plates and cutlery are also available.
Filtered water stations at no charge to reduce the use of single-use plastics
Plastic straws are not available.

Wharerata and Tussock

The staff cafeterias on the Manawatū and Wellington campuses:

offer sustainable bio cutlery, cups and plates, where possible, both in-house and for deliveries
provide water in reusable glass bottles for those eating in the cafeteria
send food for delivery on platters, which are picked up, washed and re-used
recycle glass, cans, and plastic bottles (Wharerata) and cans, plastic and cardboard (Tussock).

Wharerata also provides water for deliveries in recycled plastic bottles that are recycled again.

Tussock also has a cup library where patrons can take a mug from the shelf in the café and use it instead of a takeaway cup.

Green Impact team initiatives

Reducing disposable plastics and plastic use on campus is a priority for several Green Impact teams. Initiatives include:

Bring their own cup, plate, lunchbox and/or cutlery when purchasing a hot drink or meal from campus food outlets and encouraging colleagues and peers to do the same.
Soft-plastics bins set up, with information about where soft-plastics can be recycled.
Participation in the 2023 Plastic-free July campaign. Including documenting the journey to reduce single-use plastic.

Reduction of plastic pollution

In 2022, Massey's Associate Professor Trisia Farrelly presented research at a workshop to set the priorities for an international agreement on plastics.

Work on the Plastic Pollution Treaty included:

drafting national statements and interventions at past UN Environment Assemblies
a regional declaration
determining regional priorities, needs, and challenges.

The Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme organised the three-day workshop.

Converting legume wastewater into high-value food products

Recent funding for Massey and Lincoln University researchers allows them to investigate converting legume wastewater into high-value ingredients and food products.

The finished product could be processed and used in the same way as food hydrocolloids, emulsifiers, foaming and gelling agents, for example.

This is a novel application for the legume industry and the food industry.