The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is seeking feedback on proposals to increase the operational efficiency of buildings, and to reduce the embodied carbon across the lifecycle of buildings as part of the Building for Climate Change programme. This is the first public consultation under the new Building...
Forest & Bird are asking New Zealanders to tell our politicians that our environment is important to us. You can send an email to all political leaders asking for: Oceans restored back to health A safe climate for all life on Earth A kinder economy for people and planet Wild places that...
As part of a wider plan to reduce the amount of rubbish ending up in New Zealand’s landfills, the government is to fund the upgrading of seven high-tech recycling plants from Northland to Canterbury, the Associate Minister for the Environment, Eugenie Sage, has announced. “There is much to do to...
Evidence of a historic seawall in Auckland’s Quay Street has been uncovered as part of the Downtown Programme, during strengthening work in the area The seawall supports land reclamation which took place sometime between 1875 and the early 1900s. Auckland Council’s Downtown seawall strengthening team recently discovered remnants of the...
NZTA has signed up its alliance partners to deliver the Westhaven to Akoranga pathway across Auckland Harbour. They are Fulton Hogan, HEB Construction, Aurecon, McConnell Dowell and Freyssinet. NZTA says it means they can finalise the detailed design and prepare for construction to start in 2021, with this section of...
The Ministry for the Environment is seeking feedback on two proposals related to plastic design, use and disposal. Proposal 1: The Government is looking to move away from hard-to-recycle plastics, starting with a phase-out of: some polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and polystyrene packaging all oxo-degradable plastic products. This is part of...
Civic Trust Auckland’s winter lecture on the theme of Castles scheduled for Sunday 30 August has been postponed until a future date, yet to be announced. This is due to Auckland Level 3 COVID-19 restrictions being extended until midnight, 30 August.
Coffee drinkers who have incorporated reusable coffee cups into their lifestyle may like to read this article on the Greenpeace website by Holly Dove, an Auckland-based plastics campaigner, about how to avoid takeaway coffee cups during lockdown. The process begins like this: 1. Order your takeaway online, on an app...
There is encouraging news for the Leys Institute, a Category 1 and Category A building in St Mary’s Bay which was closed on 20 December. In outlining the board’s work programme for 2020/21, Waitematā Local Board Chair Richard Northey said: “We’ve requested that the Governing Body contribute proceeds from the...
There is serious concern in conservation circles that the Department of Conservation is losing its way and allowing conservation values – even in national parks – to be subsidiary to catering for tourists and other visitors, to allowing for commercial activities such as mining on conservation land, and for safety...