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Next Level Repurposing
Alsco has been a long-time supporter of a NZ charity, Medical Aid Abroad (MAA). for the last couple of years we have been providing support for the MAA vehicle costs by supplying Rego, WoF, fuel and maintenance costs.
We have just gone to the next level. Check the video.
Alsco really does like helping out, we have outfitted the new MAA premises with washroom dispensers, and have kept them supplied with products. We helped them move into the new building by providing a truck and volunteer manpower.
Alsco has also supported their last four fundraising dinners by paying for a table of eight. It all helps such a worthy cause.
But its really about our expired or obsolete stock, we don’t want it to go to waste when it is so useful in developing countries.
Murray explains who MAA are…
Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way
Helping out in the Hokianga
Will Noa is the Alsco Account Manager looking after all of Northland. He is a local, based in Whangarei, loves his community, and has been inspired by the Alsco Ambassadorial Gifting Program. Will spotted an opportunity to help Marae by donating much needed First Aid supplies for his North Hokianga Whanau.
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Unsure of how to go about organising this, Will enlisted the help of his Aunty, Pat Dargaville, who works for Hauora Hokianga, based in Rawene Hospital. In Will’s words “Aunty Pat has contacts with many Marae across Hokianga so was the perfect person to help me organise deliveries, and get me in touch with those that could meet me on the day”. He also worked closely with Alsco’s own Aunty Pat, Alsco Ambassador Pat Munro, to nail down the best supplies to put in the First Aid packs for the Marae.
Not everything goes to plan though. The Alsco van Will intended to use on the designated delivery day developed turbo issues. No problems, Will rearranged his plans in order to distribute the donated supplies in his Alsco hatchback, as well as drop a linen order into Kaikohe on his way up north. As the boxes and linen would not fit in his little car, he repacked everything into our synonymous Alsco laundry bags for the Marae handovers.
Will reports that all recipients were blown away with Alsco’s kindness and generosity. There was a real need for First Aid supplies as most Marae had little to none on hand. And what a day it was for Will, check out how busy he was, and who he caught up with;
• Ngati Manawa Marae – Pangaru, Buster Peita
• Waipuna Marae – Pangaru, Fred Dargaville
• Waihou Marae – Aleesha Ngaropo
• Waiparera Marae – Rangi Point, John Smart
• Matihetihe Marae – Chris Dixon
• Motuti Marae – Emma Davis
• Tauteihiihi Marae – KohuKohu, Devan Harris
• Pikiparia Marae – Kohukohu, Tup Harris
• Motukaraka Marae – Midge Hoani Toia
• Pa te Aroha Marae – Te Karae – Pat Dargaville
• Waima Marae – Derek Toia
• Taheke Marae – Angel Harris
• Horeke Marae – Lloyd Latimer
Pawarenga kits couldn’t be delivered due to Tangihana so these were left with his Aunty Pat to drop off on the following weekend;
• Morehu Marae – Pawarenga
• Ohaki Marae – Pawarenga
• Taiao Marae – Pawarenga
And he didn’t stop there, Will has also organised small First Aid kits for;
• Hokianga Women’s Rugby Team
• Hokianga Black Ferns Kotiro
• Hokianga Iron Maori Teams
Will reports “Nga mihi tino nui kia koutou” from all Marae and sports teams that received supplies.
Good stuff Will, you are our local legend. It is one of the pillars of Alsco to be an active supporter of our local communities, helping a wide range of not-for-profit, charitable, and sporting organisations and initiatives. We are proud of people like you that make it happen.
Thank you.
Don’t Ignore the Signs: A Message From Craig
The May edition of the NZ Trucking magazine highlights learnings about the Alsco Heavy Electric Freighter, which was unveiled in November 2019, and it still the biggest HEV in New Zealand.
It features the amazing Craig Christensen, our driver who has been there with us every step of the way.
Last year Craig was diagnosed with advanced bowel cancer. He is a battler though, and in a typical unselfish way he has used magazine space as an opportunity to spread an important message about men’s health.
In Craig’s words…
“I’ll put my hand up and say I made a mistake, that I didn’t speak up earlier when I was having symptoms. I hid it very well. I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it and thought I could just wait for it to clear up, but in the long run, it didn’t clear up. My path now is just chemo; there’s nothing else we can do.”
“Especially in the transport industry, we’re bloke’s blokes, and don’t take the time to relax and have a meaningful break. The hours put stress on you. Find time to work in some fitness and good, nutritious food. From me to guys out there, speak up. If you’re feeling any symptoms, like back pain, heart pain, get checked it out no matter what it is. I made the mistake of ignoring them.”
“Men have got to look at themselves and get themselves checked for any minor problem. Get it diagnosed early!”
The Alsco family has a message for you too Craig. You are our hero. Stay strong buddy, we love you and want you back!
Plastic Bag Reduction – a Dunedin success
In 2020, Alsco Dunedin collaborated with the Southern District Health Board (SDHB) to eliminate/minimise onsite waste, focusing on plastic bags used in the delivery of Alsco’s rental face cloths. This was consistent with Dunedin’s Budget Achievement plan under its OSH and Environmental commitment. This plan aimed to reduce waste at all levels.
Alsco Dunedin approached the SDHB and floated the idea of eliminating the plastic bag delivery of 25 face cloths, by changing to a laundry bag delivery of 100 face cloths. This gathered great momentum from their Green Champion Team. The branch trialed the service to three wards of the hospital initially, with great feedback. Storage in the linen rooms was much improved with having the laundry bags on hooks complimenting the elimination of the waste. There was also an added benefit for to Alsco’s processing, with an efficiency gain inpacking bags of 100, instead of 25.
“We identified the SDHB as our main user of the plastic bags on average 27,040 per year based on the 2019 consumption. Another motivator for making this change was with the national volumes of the supermarket sized bags being reduced, the bag cost was increasing from our suppliers.”
Dean Muir
ALSCO DUNEDIN BRANCH MANAGER
Message from …
Heather Fleming
District Service Manager SDHB
“This initiative resonated with our staff, especially when the number of plastic bags to be removed from our waste system was understood. Our sustainability committee was really pleased ( as per the quote below) and many of my clinical colleagues commented positively on this great green initiative. It’s amazing that this simple change of process can have such a major impact and our DHB really appreciates Alsco’s initiative in removing these.
As contract manager for the Laundry contract, I too am delighted to work in partnership with an environmentally minded partner to make a positive difference. I look forward to many more”
Heather also included this excerpt from minutes of a meeting of SDHB Sustainability Committee…
Alsco face cloths – Alsco are now delivering face cloths in reusable bags, instead of single use bags saving more than 39,000 plastic bags from landfill per annum. Great work Alsco!
New Initiative – Cotton Recycling
Alsco has joined The Circular Cotton Collective. This is a membership group initiated by Little Yellow Bird, a Wellington-based company that creates high-quality, organic, sustainable, and environmentally responsible clothing.
The program members will pool resources and share costs to aggregate, sort and re-distribute or recycle end-of-life cotton to promote and pilot reduction of textile waste from landfills in Aotearoa. By aggregating end of life cotton textiles, such as ‘end of life’ Alsco cotton garments, and sending them to Europe (where the technology exists) we will able to make new, virgin quality fibres.
The Alsco branches have already supplied 12 tonnes of cotton overalls and garments for the first trial shipment, which should get to it’s destination in Qtr 4 2021. We are already busy collecting garments for the next shipping container. That will be more than 20 tonnes of cottons diverted from our landfills this year, a great start.
“Little Yellow Bird sees a great benefit to partnering with Alsco who we see as a company that pushes the sustainability agenda towards a more circular business model.”
Samanatha Jones
LITTLE YELLOW BIRD FOUNDER /CEO
Here is the press release from early in November…
another blog of interest…
https://www.ethicallykate.com/blog/2021/5/12/newzealand-clothing-recycling
Ocean Plastics in the Hauraki Gulf
The Sustainable Business Network (SBN) partnered with Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari to do a deep dive into ocean plastics out on the waters of the Hauraki Gulf. The Ocean Plastics Field Trip took place on Tuesday 27 August.
There were expert speakers on the local-to-global scale of the impacts of plastics in the ocean.
Speakers included:
Devina Shetty: Institute of Marine Science, University of Auckland
Camden Howitt: Co-Founder, Sustainable Coastlines
Phil Jones: Gulf X programme Lead, Sustainable Business Network
Jeannine Goddard our Client Relationship Manager based in our Support Centre in Ellerslie was invited to go along.
A few words from Jeannine
“Thank you for inviting me to be a part of the day. It was great to meet you and to listen to the fantastic speakers as well as the opportunity to meet some really inspiring people!
Davina’s research is fascinating and Cam is so passionate but really down to earth at the same time which made him very easy to relate to.
Some of the stats were really scary! I was particularly shocked by the ‘container loads’ of rubbish that groups around the country have collected & the fact that New Zealand’s Clean Green reputation actually puts us at #9 on the list of the most wasteful countries in the developed world higher than both USA & China!! Certainly opened my eyes wide & made me want to do better knowing the impact.
It was a real privilege to be able to attend on behalf of Alsco and I’m really proud to be a part of an organisation that sees the importance of sustainability and really tries to ‘walk the talk’ with the sustainability journey.”
