Successful Glendowie salvage day

Grant Hawthorne, Kāinga Ora Waste Programme Project Manager, says a number of locals were waiting patiently with trailers when the event opened at 8am.

“It was great to see the level of demand in the community because salvaging helps to reduce the huge amount of construction and demolition waste produced in New Zealand every year.

“Along with our industry partners, we are helping to tackle this issue head on by using more sustainable site clearance methods like deconstruction when removing houses from development sites.

“The Glendowie salvage day is a great example of this as it involves deconstructing old state houses and re-using as many materials as possible from the site”, Grant says.

Stainless steel benches were one of many items given away at the community salvage day.

Emma Jonsson from deconstruction partner Green Way agrees. “First and foremost, salvaging offers a great way to get building materials and fittings directly into the hands of locals who need them.”

Ovens, heaters, heat pumps, curtains, kitchen units, stainless steel benches, tapware and 200 sqm of insulation were free for families / whānau who needed them.

Emma says another significant benefit is that these are items that could otherwise end up in landfill. “They get a new lease of life, which is a huge consideration in terms of sustainability.”

“But the part we love the most is getting the opportunity to meet members of the local community and hearing first-hand how these items can have such a positive impact on people’s lives.”

“We heard about insulating and fitting a kitchenette into a granny flat for a mother-in-law, keeping a whānau warm and dry next winter with a free heater, and curtains and a stainless steel sink and bench unit being set up as a new gardening or filleting station.

“Everyone’s needs are so different, and we love to hear stories, and see faces light up when we explain that everything is completely free,” Emma says.

All up, around 150 locals came along to the pre-Christmas event. Grant says Kāinga Ora hopes to have more of these community salvage days at other locations next year.

Recent results
Kāinga Ora aims to reuse or recycle at least 80% of uncontaminated materials from Auckland and Northland development sites, and 60% from all other regions. In addition, we plan to relocate at least 7% of public houses from development areas nationally.

In financial year 2022, we exceeded our targets with 87% of uncontaminated materials reused or recycled in Auckland and 10% of houses relocated from development areas across the country.

In all other regions, materials reuse and recycling from our deconstruction and demolition programmes is being tracked from financial year 2023 onwards.

Read more about our site clearance programme