Monthly ArchivesJune 2014

Waikato onion producers, Chapman Onion Exports, have been rewarded for their recycling efforts in the recent Agrecovery container promotion, winning one of the ten $500 rural supplier vouchers. The company, who have been in business since 1977, have recycled over 6,000 containers in 6 years with Agrecovery through the Matamata and Pukekohe collection sites. According to Brenhan Chapman, Area Manager Matamata, the programme is a very convenient way to deal with their empty chemical containers: “We like to be proactive with compliance and were early adopters of the service. We knew it was likely to become a future requirement of customers that we were responsible and followed best practice. “Like anything, the process seemed a bit difficult initially but its ...

Robert Crawford, a sheep and beef farmer from Gore, was one of ten recyclers to win during the recent Agrecovery container promotion. He started recycling around 2011 and says that taking the empty agrichemical and drench containers in for recycling is pretty convenient. “It’s just as easy to take them into town as to do anything else with them,” explains Robert. “The staff at Advanced Agriculture in Gore are really helpful and the whole process is pretty pain free.” The Crawfords have been farming Arauatu, their 200 ha property in Gore, for the last 14 years, and say that while they don’t have a lot of containers, the empty containers they do use need to go somewhere: “We don’t need ...

Seed Orchard Manager Jayne Arscott is pretty clear that Agrecovery is the simplest and most convenient way for Proseed NZ Ltd to get rid of their used herbicide and fungicide containers. “It’s really simple – we have a set group of staff who do the spraying; they triple rinse the containers as they’re emptied, and then when there’s enough, they take them down to the Amberley collection site. It’s not complicated.” Proseed NZ Ltd is the principal tree seed supplier in New Zealand and they also export to over 30 countries from their seed orchards in North Canterbury. According to Jayne, they used to give containers to people who wanted them or took them to the Amberley dump. “But when ...

Gisborne sheep and beef farmer, Myles Mullooly credits much of his recycling to his partner Adriana, who he says is a greenie through and through. “I tend to let the drench containers build up, but she whips me along and reminds me to get the containers down to the collection site. It’s great to have a place that will take them and you know they’re actually getting recycled. “We do reuse some of the containers, but there are only so many uses you can find for them. Previously they would have just gone to the dump, so it’s really good to have an alternative. “We are trying to be good custodians of our farm environment, choosing more natural products where ...

Steve Wheeler has the enviable job of Viticulturalist at Mission Estate Winery in Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand’s oldest winery, where wine making and protecting the environment go hand in hand. “We have a strong commitment to sustainable wine growing practices and have been part of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand since that started up in 1995. Plus, we’re certified to the international environmental standard ISO 14001 and have a number of Biogro certified blocks. “The practical aspects of these programmes mean we have a variety of initiatives such as planting to enhance natural predators and therefore reduce sprays, and introducing sheep to replace mowing. We also use GPS and precision viticulture to measure variations in the soil and grapevine quality across ...