Some of the Horticentre team in front of the new Agrecovery site at 18 Station Road. From left to right: Graeme Campbell, Daniel Hill, James Cropper, Brian Slader.
Horticentre in Hastings is supporting the push to clear more rural waste and support sustainable farming by joining the list of Agrecovery container collection sites throughout the country.
Local vineyards, stonefruit, kiwifruit and apple growers, as well as farmers, can make the most of recycling at the site. Empty triple-rinsed containers, up to 60 litres in size, from participating brand owners can be recycled there for free.
Regional manager of Horticentre Hastings, James Cropper, says they joined the rural recycling programme to “offer an all-round service to clients”.
“We’re all about providing solutions, and Agrecovery is a solution for our growers. So whether that means visiting clients or advising them on which product to buy – when it gets empty, they can bring it back to us.”
”If we can take it back off their hands, then it’s a service we provide that helps them, “he adds.
It’s an important service for our growers. “Some go through a hell of a lot of containers and bring a truck and trailer load of them back for recycling,” he says.
A lot of growers, such as grape growers are members of a sustainable programme – part of this involves recycling containers. These growers get audited before sending produce overseas or before grapes get turned into wine. Part of that audit process is the ability to recycle empty containers. “They can’t take it to landfill, and they can’t keep it at their property, due to auditing process, so they’ve got to get rid of it somehow,” says Mr Cropper.
It’s also helping the environment. “Recycling what’s used and reusing it again,” says Mr Cropper.
He says his customers are “all on board already” with the importance of recycling.
“Most of them are schooled up – they know containers have to be triple-rinsed. They know they can’t bring containers that still have chemical in them or are dirty.”
“If anything, they want more recycling options,” he says.
Horticentre Hastings is ideally suited for collecting containers. It’s a big, easily accessible site, open from 8am – 5pm, Monday to Friday. The site can be found at 18 Station Road, Whakatu.