Pou Para Kore

Food Rescue

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Food Rescue keeps good kai out of landfill and gets it to the people and places where it can make a real difference. Every day, supermarkets, growers, cafés, and producers have food that is still safe, fresh, and nutritious — but cannot be sold. Instead of being wasted, our team collects it and shares it with local community groups, marae, schools and whanau.   It is practical climate action, food justice, and community care all in one.

 

Why it matters

 

Aotearoa wastes over 1.2 million tonnes of food annually, roughly enough to feed everyone in Kirikiriroa.  As well as being a waste of the resources used to produce the food, when it ends up in landfill, it creates methane emissions contributing to climate change.  Our Food Rescue project turns this environmental problem into one that provides practical support for our communities. 

 

We partner with local charitable organisations to make this food available at community Free Stores. 

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Waimarie: Hamilton East Community House | 53 Wellington Street, Hamilton East. Monday to Friday from 1pm.  Please call first 07) 858 3453. 

Te Whare Kokonga - Melville Community Centre | 58 Bader Street, Bader | Tuesday and Thursday from 1pm.  Ph. 07 843 8811.  

Western Community Centre | 46 Hyde Avenue, Nawton | Monday, Thursday and Friday from 1pm.  Ph. 07 847 4873.  

Glenview Community Centre | 12 Tomin Road, Glenview | Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 1pm. Register for a parcel before 12.30pm. Ph 07 843 2600.  

Pukete Neighbourhood House | 43 Church Road, Te Rapa Sportsdrome, Pukete | Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 1pm.  Ph. 07 849 1115.  

Good News Community Centre | 78 Breckons Avenue, Nawton | Monday - Friday (Except Wednesday) from 1pm.  Ph. 07 850 5020.  

Te Papanui Enderley Community Trust | 66 Tennyson Road | Tuesdays and Thursday from 1pm. Ph. 0800 363375. 

Te Whānau Pūtahi Community Centre | 37 Oxford Street, Fairfield | Monday and Friday from 1pm.  Ph. 07 855 0990.  

Te Whare o te Ata | 214 Clarkin Road, Fairfield,  |Wednesdays from 1pm. Ph. 022 0355458.  

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What you can do

 

• Donate surplus kai if you are a café, grower, supermarket, or food business

• Volunteer to help redistribute food 

• Support fundraising that keeps vehicles running and fridges full

• Learn about zero waste and creating a circular, zero waste food system. 

 

Together, we can build a Waikato where good kai feeds people, not landfill - and where sharing food is an act of sovereignty, care, and connection.

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Community Composting

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Community Composting turns food scraps and garden waste into living soil that supports māra kai, gardens, and local food systems. It is hands‑on, community‑led climate action.

The kaupapa supports compost hubs, workshops, and neighbourhood projects across the Waikato, helping people learn composting skills and keep nutrients cycling locally.
 

Why it matters

 

More than half of household waste is organic. When that waste goes to landfill, it releases methane, contributes to climate change, and takes up space. When we compost it, we create something valuable.

 

Community Composting:

• Reduces emissions

• Builds healthy soils

• Supports local food growing

• Teaches practical zero-waste skills

• Keeps nutrients cycling in the community

• Strengthens food sovereignty and resilience

• Connects people through shared work and shared learning

• Healthy soil is the foundation of healthy kai systems — and composting is one of the easiest ways to rebuild it.

 

What you can do

 

• Drop scraps at a community compost hub

• Join a composting workshop

• Start composting at home

• Volunteer to support compost hubs

• Use compost in local gardens and māra kai

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Together, we can turn what was once discarded into something that nourishes gardens, feeds communities, and supports a real change in how we think about waste.

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Oranga Haapori

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Get up close and personal with your rubbish to help divert more from landfill. Oranga Haapori is a programme for organisations that want to reduce their waste.  At Para Kore Waananga Tuuaapapa, your staff, volunteers and the wider community can come together to learn about a zero carbon, zero-waste world. We get up close and personal with your rubbish at these workshops, auditing what your group throws out, explaining what can be diverted from landfill - and how to do it!  The waananga are interactive, informative, fun, full of opportunities for discussion, questions and answers, and have heaps of practical learning. 

 

For community centres, we also offer Arotakenga Para/Waste Checks to measure, record and set waste reduction goals for your centre using an interactive data tracking dashboard which gives you a really clear view of what is happening with your waste. 

 

Waste is often a symptom of broader systemic issues — overconsumption, disconnection and extractive economies. Although change at an individual level can chip away at the problem, at Go Eco we want to expand that focus to community-led systems change and empower people across the Waikato to reimagine waste as a resource and to co-create circular, regenerative alternatives. 

Why it matters

 

Each year, the Waikato sends 309,000 tonnes of rubbish to landfill - a mix of household, industrial and construction waste. (2020, Waikato Regional Council).  That’s equivalent to 631kg of rubbish per person.  Landfill waste is a significant contributor to climate change, generating nearly 4% of our GHGs, and 7% of our methane emissions. (2023, Ministry for the Environment). Nearly two-thirds of what we throw out in the Waikato and Bay of Plenty could be recycled or diverted from landfill. If we could achieve that, our emissions would drop by 50%. (2020, Waikato Regional Council). 

 

Landfills also present a serious risk to our land and water ecosystems. For example, contaminated water from rubbish dumps can leach into our groundwater and rivers, and discarded plastic breaks down into microplastics, which also end up in our waterways, and in our soil.

 

What you can do

 

If you’re an organisation looking to partner with us to reduce your emissions, email parakore@goeco.org.nz

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Healthy Homes

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The Healthy Homes kaupapa provides practical help for people and communities who want their homes to be drier, warmer and more energy efficient.  It also supports community-based energy educators who provide free advice to the public on everything from power bills to mould prevention.

 

Why it matters

 

Being able to live in a warm, energy-efficient home is crucial to our health and wellbeing, and also helps lower our power bills and climate emissions.  

Historically, New Zealand homes have performed poorly, leading to high power bills and cold, damp living conditions.  This has resulted in more doctors visits, higher rates of asthma, hospitalisation and, tragically, higher mortality rates, especially in winter. 

Rising energy costs are also exacerbating financial difficulties and increasing inequality in our society.  

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What we offer

 

HomeFit is an independent, energy assessment service supported by Go Eco. Certified assessors visit you at home and give practical, tailored advice to help improve the energy efficiency of your house and lower your energy bills. 

 

The assessments take approximately two hours and and involve checking: 

• Insulation, with advice on where you need it and the types available

• Heating, options and their relative cost-effectiveness

• Condensation, with advice on mould prevention

• Lighting and energy-efficient lighting options

• Hot water heating

• Energy efficiency at home and best types of products (we cannot recommend specific brands)

• Advice on smart water use and being more sustainable

• Includes a free recheck in the event of remedial work being needed

To book a HomeFit assessment, email parakore@goeco.org.nz . Go Eco also offers free over-the-phone support and you can always drop by the Go Eco office to ask questions.

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GoEco provides training and support for the Energy Navigators, a group of energy efficiency advisers based at these 13 community organisations around the Waikato:  To be connected with your nearest Energy Navigator email parakore@goeco.org.nz The Navigators are funded by the WEL Energy Trust and help tenants and owner-occupiers with questions about their power bills, including how to get a better deal, and advice on energy-related issues at home, including dealing with  excessive condensation, to advice on how to keep rooms cool in summer.

To spread the expertise on creating warmer, drier and healthier homes, GoEco also offers Home Energy Workshops. These sessions cover: 

• Understanding your home and how it works

• Options for improving energy efficiency in the home

• Insulation

• Hot water

• Heating options

• How to read and understand your power bills

To partner with us to deliver a Home Energy Workshop or to find out when the next one is, please contact parakore@goeco.org.nz

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Tiakina Te Taiao - Para Kore Events

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Instead of producing items that are used for just a few minutes and thrown away or stored in a cupboard, Tiakina Te Taiao supports circular systems that value what we have; and makes sure it gets used fully by our communities. At the heart of this kaupapa are two key initiatives to help events, schools, marae and community groups reduce waste.

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Wash Trailer

A mobile wash station that makes it easy to run low-waste events. The trailer is fully equipped with washing stations, a steriliser, and reusable plates, cups, bowls, and cutlery -  everything needed to wash and reuse items on site.

We can also advise and help set up recycling and diversion systems at your event.

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Go Eco Library 

A community resource library available through annual membership. It gives people and community organisations access to shared tools, catering items, restoration equipment, and other practical resources that support low-waste living and community projects.

Together, these initiatives create practical, circular systems that reduce waste at the source and support community-led climate action.

 

Why it matters

Events generate large amounts of waste — much of it completely avoidable. Single-use items, including those labelled “compostable,” often end up in landfill, where they create emissions and pollution and strain local waste systems. By using reusable items and shared resources, communities can:

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• Reduce waste immediately

• Keep reusable items in circulation, to value the resources that went into creating them

• Lower the need for new materials to be extracted and reduce emissions from manufacturing and transport

• Save money over time by avoiding disposables

• Model sustainable, circular practices for tamariki and whānau

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What you can do:

• Book the Community Wash Trailer for your next event, kura day, hui, or celebration

• Replace disposable cups, plates, and cutlery with reusable ones

• Become a member of the Go Eco Library

• Borrow instead of buying tools and equipment

• Donate items or volunteer to support the library
   

Together, we can run events that care for people, protect te taiao, and create a future where sharing and reuse are the norm — not the exception.

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Climate Resilience Programme

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Climate change is already affecting the Waikato through more frequent flooding, longer dry periods, stronger storms, and increasing pressure on food, water, and energy systems. This programme supports Waikato communities, organisations, and small businesses to understand climate risks, reduce emissions, and prepare for change in practical, locally grounded ways.

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Bringing together science, mātauranga Māori, and community knowledge, the Climate Resilience Programme supports local climate planning, adaptation projects, and hands-on action. We work alongside hapū, community groups, councils, and local organisations to build responses that reflect local priorities and strengthen resilience where it is needed most.

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Dedicated climate advisors are a core part of this kaupapa. They work directly with organisations to identify emissions reduction opportunities and support the development of realistic, achievable climate plans. This includes guidance on energy, waste, transport, food systems, and operational changes that reduce emissions while building long-term resilience.  This is practical, collaborative climate action — designed to support every hub across the Waikato to respond with confidence and care.
 

Why it matters

 

Climate change is not a future issue — it is already shaping life in the Waikato. Communities are facing increased flooding, rising energy costs, pressure on food systems, and greater risk to homes, infrastructure, and ecosystems. Supporting locally led, practical climate action helps reduce these risks, protect what matters, and ensure communities have the knowledge, tools, and confidence to adapt and thrive in a changing climate.

 

What you can do

 

• Join local climate resilience workshops

• Support community adaptation planning

• Reduce waste and emissions at home

• Grow kai and strengthen food security

• Support mana whenua‑led climate initiatives

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Together, we can create a Waikato where people, ecosystems, and future generations are protected — and where climate action is something we do with each other, not alone.