Simply, live it.
We don’t need to wait. Don’t stop at signing the petition; influence each other by walking the walk. Change what is normal. Here are some ways you can do this as individuals, groups, businesses, and educators. Please remember: we are asking for a national system change, not simply a ban. The pressure is not on you, but you CAN apply the pressure.
who can sign the petition?
Anyone, of any age.
#TAKEAWAYTHROWAWAYS
This is a paper free campaign, so social media will be a huge component. If you are an instagram user, create posts and stories, tag @takeawaythrowaways and use the #takeawaythrowaways in your images. We will always share and credit you. Please help us make this more of a thing than any single use branding company could achieve with a million dollar marketing budget. Please help us use social media as a platform for real positive change, and help us show that people power is THE power.
#takeawaythrowaways #makereusegreatagain
How do I share Takeaway Throwaways offline?
Do you have a stall at a local market and would like to share this campaign with market goers? Do you run a cafe and want to put a sign up near the counter? Do you want to encourage your friends and family to sign the petition in RL? For all these types of contexts, we’ve created a poster with a QR Code that people can be invited to scan with their phones - it’ll take them straight to the petition online and then they can sign in their own time. Feel free to print one off and stick it up at your workplace, your market stall, your cafe, your school.
Sign Power
Have a sign made up at your workplace, farmer’s market, school, in your car, at your front door, and invite folks to stand with it and have a photo taken? Share these on social media (tag @takeawaythrowaways or #takeawaythrowaways) and we will share, and credit you. The more images, the more noise we make, the more change we make - every day - to normalise reuse. It only needs to #TAKEAWAYTHROWAWAYS because that, at its simplest, invites others to explore what it is that we are all asking for.
I BELIEVE in this campaign and I want to use my voice to support it.
Thank you. Using our voice and our ability to act, is the only way this can work. We ARE society.
To normalise reuse, we need to gently, but proactively, encourage each other to do the right thing: by demonstrating behaviour (e.g. reusable containers for our lunch, refusing single use items), and by reminding those around us of the simple and practical steps they can take to do better by their home planet, and each other. Find out how you can do this in our Alternatives section.
If you’re on there, connect with us on social media. Sign and share the petition link:(https://www.toko.org.nz/petitions/takeaway-throwaways-for-food-and-drink-and-mandate-reusable-alternatives-instead).
Talk about it! Ask your local cafe to make moves away from single use. And always get in touch with ideas you have to promote or celebrate reuse in your community.
I Am A Social Media User And I Am Ready For This.
If you have a voice online, use it! It doesn’t matter if you have 5 followers or 5 million. If you enjoy sharing online, share about THIS; we will be honoured to work alongside you. Get in touch - we have information for you to work from. Check the media pack too?
Connecting with us on Facebook and Instagram (links at page top) is a great way to begin a relationship with us.
We’re asking you to pretty please share the petition on your social media or blog space. We have an Instagram dedicated to the campaign @takeawaythrowaways, and we use the hashtag #takeawaythrowaways . Please share in whatever capacity suits your channels.
Here are some ideas for how to do it...
Write #takeawaythrowaways on your forehead, a piece of cardboard, your front door, in chalk on your driveway… get creative! You’re a social media person, so you know how visual people are: use this to your advantage. We will always share your work and credit you in full.
Do not give love or likes to posts of plastic or compostable plastic single use items- be it coffee cups, cold drinks containers, or sushi trays. Social media users know that a brand will increase or decrease use of certain images depending upon our response to them. So, withhold the likes! They will soon stop, and single use will slowly cease to be an acceptable form of market branding and influencing. People power!
Be a responsible influencer: If you see someone using a single use item on social media, call them out KINDLY. This applies to the hospitality industry accounts too. These businesses often do not want to use or show single use items, but the pressure remains upon them to do so, as posting single use (especially coffee cups) has become a way of obtaining brand exposure. It is up to all of us to reverse this trend. Let them know, KINDLY, that we love them for their coffee and their people, and that they have no need to promote themselves using throwaway items.
We are a national airline and we are ready for this.
Nice. Knew you would be! Firstly, how about a campaign to encourage us to use our own sealable cups, lightweight containers, and not metal cutlery when we fly? Then how about ditching single use in flight (start with domestic) and introduce a reusable container meal service? In fact, someone we know already wrote a letter to you with a few ideas…
I Am In Hospo, And I Am Ready For This.
Ok. Firstly, you’re making history. Thank you. Head over to our Alternatives section for ideas about how you can step back from single use now. Connect with us on social media, and tag us in your stories when reusables are involved. We will support you as you support us.
i am part of a community group, and we are ready for this.
Could you please link to the petition from your social media? Get in touch. Let’s find a way to work together toward common goals. We can provide you with material to share the word and a platform, through our social media, to vocalise your support. Please see our contact page and reach out if you wish to support, endorse, or be a part of this campaign. Contact Laura or Kate to work on a social media collaboration.
My business/workplace is ready for this.
Promote the petition through internal emails, and link to it from your social media or website. Let us know if you make these moves, so we can support you.
If you are ready to make real change in your workplace, or a pledge dictating a timeline for phase out of takeaway throwaway packaging as workplace policy, why not reach out to Hannah and we can proudly include you in the Endorsement hall of fame?
As an employer, you are in a perfect position to influence not only your team, but other businesses too. You are in a position to lead the way. Removing avoidable single use items from your work space is low-hanging fruit on an infrastructure and administrative level, while being gold as a way of showing your integrity and credibility: this company cares - they are DOING it.
For the heroes, just stand up and make the call: Declare your workspace (after the necessary discussions to ensure everyone has access to the alternatives they need) ‘takeaway throwaway free’. Let us know! We would be stoked to share your pledge and commitment, which encourages others to do the same.
Encourage reuse: Well placed signage that points to alternatives to bringing in disposable packaging from local cafes (borrow a mug, bowl, plate, or cutlery from the staff room, or purchase a company branded reusable cup). Support a local second hand shop, or have an office ‘mug, crockery, and cutlery’ drive to ensure your staff have access to alternatives.
Incentivise reuse: Appoint or roster a sustainability champion to run in-house challenges. We suggest $1 fines for bringing a throwaway coffee cup into the work place, and then donating the monthly pot of gold to a local cause. Keep a hero board where employees receive a good mark, and treat the monthly winner to a cafe voucher. Support local hospitality as well as encourage good habits!
I Believe In This, And I Have Something To Say.
Good. It’s your world. Write an article, a sentence, a paragraph, or an essay about how you feel. Is Aotearoa New Zealand ready for this? What are your concerns? What is your business, school or household doing to reduce single use? Tell us how it is working for you. Tell us how you FEEL about the convenience, throwaway culture and what your hopes are for our collective future. Share the petition link and post about the campaign on your social media. Tag us and we will share your sharing!
Submit your comments to act@takeawaythrowaways.nz . Let us know if you would like us to publish your full name, and a link to your social media account or blog.
I’m an educator, and i am ready for this.
Wonderful.
Could you use this petition as a starting point to discuss behaviour change, the legislative process, and practical actions that young people can take to play their part in securing a clean future? If you would like a Skype/Zoom or phone call from any of the Takeaway Throwaways team, we are keen to talk.
School fairs? Have a look at our Events Alternatives section for ideas about wash stations, reusable plates, cups, and containers etc.
The Koha Jar Project exists to connect schools with cafes in their area, get kids out of the classroom, and turn a theoretical conversation about the environment into a practical exercise, as the kids create and then provide an alternative to single use cups to local businesses. This is not just about a campaign, this is about action.
read, learn and discuss!
These documents give an insight into many of the reuse systems happening worldwide, including case studies. Well worth a look - https://www.newplasticseconomy.org/assets/doc/Reuse.pdf - and we recommend this good and easy read to learn about terminology, systems and benefits of reuse that are happening, or are under review internationally https://rethinkplasticalliance.eu/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/bffp_rpa_reusable_solutions_report.pdf
I represent an Eco conscious brand, and i am ready for this.
Firstly, you’re brilliant. Let’s do this together. Weaving this petition in with your content this year would be exceptional. If you’re ready to share about the petition, need content/images, want some support on social media, or have a project that fits, we’re up for it! Contact kate@takeawaythrowaways.nz
If you are ready to make real change in your workplace, or a pledge dictating a timeline for phase out of takeaway throwaway packaging as workplace policy, why not reach out to Hannah and we’ll proudly include you in the Endorsement hall of fame.
I Am A Kid And I Am Ready For This.
Make sure your people know they need to make lifestyle changes for you. Nag them about remembering reusables. Take responsibility for yours, and keep them with you. Talk to your teachers. Talk and talk and talk. That is how change happens. If you have a story to tell about why you think things like this are important, tell us. If you have ideas for reusable systems that can help every cafe, restaurant, juice bar, and airline in whole country go single use plastic free, tell us!
i am a councillor, and i believe my town is ready for this.
Talk to your team, your mayor, your CEO, your waste minimisation/management team, and your sustainability people, and open a dialogue: Can we, as a council, commit to endorsing this campaign? Can we make our offices a voluntarily single use free area? Can we implement a system of borrow and return for coffee runs and lunch breaks? How can we work with what we have access to, and utilise the human resources we have to lead the way? Talk to us. We will always do all we can to assist you. Let us know what you are working on and what you have achieved so we can shout about it.
I Am A Student And I Am Ready For This.
If you would like to organise an event to encourage behaviour change, or to support and promote the campaign, please get in touch with liam@takeawaythrowaways.nz . If you would like us to work with your school, college or university to help them move to more sustainable practices on campus, get in touch with laura@takeawaythrowaways.nz . We are always keen to provide resources, and always open to ideas about working together with student groups or individuals. Our Instagram and Facebook pages are an easy way to begin a relationship… Share the petition on your social media, and contribute images to the Takeaway Throwaways social media accounts. Make a noise with us!?