bayfair shopping centre, tauranga

Love NZ Public Place Recycling Case Study:
Bayfair Shopping Centre, Tauranga
In 2010 Bayfair Shopping Centre signed up to
the Government’s Recycling in Public Places
Initiatives and the Love NZ brand making it
the first shopping centre in New Zealand to
introduce recycling facilities for its shoppers.
The initiative saw the installation of ten Love
NZ recycling bins in and around the mall as
part of Bayfair’s comprehensive commitment
to waste minimisation in collaboration with
Tauranga District Council.
With over 750 people working in over 90
stores which occupy over 7.2 hectares of
land, Bayfair Shopping Centre has over 5.4
million customer visits per year. Bayfair is
jointly owned by AMP Capital Investors and
Tower Property Nominees and is managed by
AMP Capital Shopping Centres. AMP Capital
also owns the Botany Town Centre and
Manukau Supa Centre in Auckland and The
Palms Shopping Centre in Christchurch.
Creating a Sustainable Shopping Centre
Back in 2006 the centre’s recycling was limited to
cardboard and deep fryer fat with 389 tonnes of waste
sent to landfill a year at a cost of $60,000. Bayfair
started work and within a year had reduced their
waste by 42 tonnes a year and saved $30,000 into
the bargain. By June 2008, Bayfair had reduced their
yearly waste by 99 tonnes from 2005.
When Bayfair changed the frequency of compactor
collection from daily to twice weekly, it saved the
centre about $30,000 per annum in removal fees. By
taking a closer look at the waste stream Bayfair took
the first steps down the waste minimisation path. This
initial action set a new course for the shopping centre
and Bayfair embarked on a long term goal of reducing
its impact on the environment and contributing to
the community while reducing its waste to landfill
costs. The programme has grown to fit Bayfair’s
environmental targets and the needs of its tenants.
Food Court Recycling
The food court was refurbished in 2008 which included
the introduction of cleaning stations that are purpose
built to sort and recycle waste. The removal of the
communal waste bins has taken the process of
waste sorting out of the customer’s hands and into
a controlled managed process. This increases the
volumes of waste diverted from landfill and removes
all contamination from the recycled waste stream.
This innovation has provided a unique service that is
not seen in any other shopping centre in New Zealand
and potentially unique on an international level and
is a leading example of forward thinking design and
recycling initiatives.
There is a strong focus on continuous staff training
and inductions about the use of the centre recycling
areas, which have been supported through Tauranga
City Council funding and waste consultancy
Wastewatchers. This covers waste area training and
in-house training to find better ways to separate waste
at and prior to the point of collection.
Love NZ Public Place Recycling Bins
Bayfair has installed ten Love NZ recycling bins in
various locations around the shopping centre, including
the food court area and in the car park. The recycling
bins are adjacent to rubbish bins and labelled with
what can be recycled.
The recycling bins are best utilised in areas of high
foot traffic; by seated areas in the food court, public
amenities and close to the entrance and exits. The
culmination of the integration of Love NZ and the many
waste minimisation activities that have been put in
place over the last 10 years is clearly demonstrated in
the centre’s annual waste cost being 14% lower than
in 2003.
What has been achieved?
Plastic beverage containers fill
450 x 660l
wheelie bins a year; enough recycled fibre to fill
25,000 jackets.
More than
10 tonnes of glass bottles are recycled
each year; the equivalent weight to a fully grown
triceratops!
Aluminium cans divert
674kg from landfill a year;
the weight of an adult walrus!
Paper and cardboard recycling diverted almost
260 tonnes which is equivalent to the weight of
almost 50 full grown elephants!
Food scrap collection diverts over
55 tonnes a
year from landfill or the equivalent of more than
250,000 burgers!
Bayfair recycles enough shrink wrap to spread over
75 rugby pitches.
Over
60% of the centre’s waste is being diverted
from landfill
The centre’s carbon foot print has been reduced by
22% (Carbon Audit completed for the period 2005
- 2009)
Bayfair’s media tracking company estimates
that sustainability initiatives at the shopping
centre have resulted in $1,095,871 worth of free
advertising through print, radio and television media
over the last seven years. *As at August 2013.