New site, new name - it’s all about Less Waste.

Mahurangi Wastebusters is reopening at 55 Lawrie Road on 27th October. The initial opening will be for waste drop-off and recycling with a full launch including opening of a reuse shop and education programmes and workshops before Christmas.

Manager Mark Gane said that the redevelopment of the Council owned site at Lawrie Road, and a new 10 year partnership agreement with Council, has given us the opportunity to really look at the services we provide to the local community. We are all about creating less waste and sending less to landfill so the new site will open with a new name - Less waste Warkworth (Less).

Unfortunately, Auckland Council and Mahurangi Wastebusters have had to make the difficult decision to close the existing transfer station and recycling centre on Rustybrook Road, Wellsford. Despite having a loyal group of wonderful customers the site has not been financially viable for the past 4 years. Its remote location with no power and water has also made it challenging for staff, and the regular break ins and vandalism has been extremely costly and disruptive. Mahurangi Wastebusters’ digger had its window smashed by a vandal just last week. The last date for public access of this site will be Wednesday 25th October. 

While unable to receive rubbish, scrap metal and green waste, Mahurangi Wastebusters is keen to continue to support the Wellsford community’s zero waste efforts by expanding the services available at our more central location at 47 Station Road, Wellsford. Trading under the new name Less waste Wellsford, this Community Recycling Centre will continue to retail second hand goods, as well as be a place to drop off; e-waste, food scraps, polystyrene, tetra-pak, soft plastics, batteries, and reusable items.

 “We are not a waste company, we are a charity focused on reuse, education, composting and recycling. We want to make it as easy as possible for our communities to send less to landfill. The ultimate goal for us is to encourage people to think about the waste they produce, and whether it can be reused or recycled before it just gets dumped into landfill.,” says Mark.
“We want to give the community a choice. By taking regular community feedback on board we can ensure the services we provide are meeting their needs. Resource recovery needs to remain affordable and our services need to make it easy for everyone to do the right thing with their waste. 

“We’ve introduced a composting service taking food waste across the region, our collections service is available to the community for reusable items that they would like us to pick up, and our onsite shops save all reusable goods from ending up in landfill.”

Matthew Luxon, director of Mahurangi Wastebusters says: “More than 6,700 tonnes is kept out of the landfill each year across Tāmaki Makaurau thanks to the work being done in community recycling centres like these two and their ability to reuse, repair, repurpose and upcycle items.”
“Having the support and funds to launch well-run  community recycling centres is pivotal to building a circular economy, where manufacturers consider the full life of a product and design, ensuring it lasts longer and can be re-purposed at the end of its use - something which we are working towards and educating our community on daily.” said Matthew. “We are extremely grateful to Auckland Council for their continued support and commitment to our community-led enterprise.” 

About Less. Waste 

Less. waste Warkworth & Wellsford operate as a joint venture between Mahurangi Wastebusters and  Localised Limited with support from Auckland Council’s Waste Solutions Team. 
Mahurangi Wastebusters is a charitable trust established in 2017 in response to increasing demand from North Rodney locals wanting alternatives to sending their waste to landfill.

Localised is a charitable company 100% owned by the Zero Waste Network, a membership organisation with over 120 members working in the resource recovery sector throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.