A Nelson-based volunteer group has helped New Zealand surpass a major recycling threshold.
Grassroots Recycling, established by local resident Jemima Jones, has collected 210,300 food and beverage cartons, preventing them from ending up in landfill.
Carton Recycling Scheme Expands in Nelson
Organic Foods Nelson has become the 100th drop-off point for liquid paperboard cartons nationwide, according to the Packaging Forum.
Jones began the project three years ago with a single wheelie bin on Kinzett Terrace, after discovering that Hamilton-based SaveBOARD could turn the cartons into building materials. From that modest start, the initiative has expanded rapidly.
“It feels really good to be making a difference and to be able to provide solutions for people in Nelson,” Jones said.
Community Volunteers Driving Recycling Impact
The initiative is powered by around 40 volunteers of diverse ages and backgrounds. Together, they collect, sort, and prepare cartons from 11 locations around the region. Approximately 60,000 cartons have come directly from local cafés under a new extension of the scheme.
Jones credits the project’s success to the community’s engagement. “It wouldn’t be happening without a team of about 40 local volunteers, young and old, and willingness in the community to embrace the scheme,” she said.
Local Businesses Closing the Recycling Loop
Organic Foods Nelson, a family-run store, became the 100th national collection point when co-manager Damien Roddis reached out after seeing one of Jones’ online posts.
“About a week later she had a bin here,” Roddis recalled. “Better than going to landfill … it just feels like you’re closing the circle just a tiny bit more.”
Roddis added that some customers now arrive carrying “armloads” of cartons, highlighting local enthusiasm for the initiative. Other regional collection points include Buenavista Café, Sports Therapy, and NMDHB Day Services in Stoke.
Logistics Support and National Reach
The Packaging Forum has supported Grassroots Recycling from the outset, covering the costs of bins, transport to Motueka, and freight to Hamilton. Volunteers bale the containers before they are sent north from the Weka Peckers recycling depot in Motueka.
Jones, who manages the administration team at Sports Therapy by day, hopes to secure a local carton baler eventually, reducing reliance on external processing.
Nationwide, the Packaging Forum reports that 1.3 million cartons were collected through its food and beverage carton recycling scheme in the past year, with drop-off points stretching “from Ngunguru in Northland to Scott Base in Antarctica.”
Grassroots Recycling Driving Nationwide Progress
A single bin in Nelson now forms part of a growing recycling network transforming carton collection across New Zealand. Grassroots Recycling demonstrates the power of local action in driving national progress through community engagement and private-sector partnerships.
As Jones put it, “It feels really good to be making a difference.”