Page 9 - HW May 2022

Mitre 10 strikes a light, recycles it
FOLLOWING THE SUCCESSFUL
introduction of its Pota Recycle recycling program last November, Mitre 10 NZ has launched a second national product stewardship scheme.
In partnership with specialist waste and recycling business Interwaste, the new Mitre 10 Lightbulb Recycle scheme offers customers a solution for the safe disposal of household lightbulbs of any kind.
Customers drop their old globes into the Lightbulb Recycle boxes at any one of the co-operative’s 84 stores.
Mitre 10 then sends the bulbs to Interwaste, where they are dismantled, and the materials recovered and repurposed into raw materials for other uses.
Glass, for example, can be repurposed into glass wool insulation batts, mercury is extracted and repurposed for use in the dental industry, while aluminium and other metals are separated and recycled for industrial use.
Grant Fraser, Mitre 10 NZ Chief Legal & Property Officer, and executive sponsor
for sustainability, acknowledges that the cooperative’s sustainability journey still has a long way
to go, but says Mitre
10 is committed to making a real and sustainable impact on the environment and local communities.
Indeed, the Pot Recycle scheme has already diverted almost 10 tonnes of plastic from landfills, while Mitre 10 NZ has also introduced
a Sustainable Packaging Policy, which requires suppliers to reduce unnecessary packaging and to use only materials
which are home compostable or fully recyclable in New Zealand by 2025.
www.mitre10.co.nz/sustainability/ charter
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MAY 2022 | NZHJ 7