WasteMINZ

WasteMINZ Board election 2023

We received six nominations for the three places  available for this year's election. Voting papers will be sent to the primary contact of each paid member organisation on September 20.

Learn about the 2023 WasteMINZ Board candidates

​​Dr Alec McNeil 

Christchurch City Council

Manager Resource Recovery

 

Alec is standing for his third term on the WasteMINZ Board and has recently changed job to become the Manager Resource Recovery at Christchurch City Council.

 

Having been involved in the waste sector since the 1990s, in both private and public sector senior leadership roles, he is keen to continue serving the WasteMINZ membership on the Board.

 

Alec notes that the 2023 General Election will change the makeup of the government which makes it all the more important to ensure that WasteMINZ continues to represent the views of its membership to elected and Ministry officials. There is significant change ahead for the waste sector and WasteMINZ and its members continue to be in a strong position to provide essential thought leadership that will inform decision makers.

 

Alec is a waste sector thought leader and has demonstrated this through his involvement with multiple WasteMINZ working groups, industry working groups, Ministry reference groups, and international working groups. He holds a Doctor of Professional Practice where his research area was product stewardship.  

 

​​Chris Purchas

Tonkin+Taylor

Sector Director, Waste + Resource Recovery

        

Chris is a resource recovery and strategy specialist working across the waste & resource recovery sector in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific.  For almost 30 years he has worked closely with local authorities, government and the private sector across New Zealand to identify, evaluate and implement a range of options to maximise resource recovery and effectively manage residual waste.

        

In the last 15 years he has also been active in Australia and the Pacific providing a unique perspective on key issues and opportunities for our sector in New Zealand. Chris loves working in this sector because of the great people, the positive impact we can have on people and the environment, and the complex challenges we have to navigate.

        

Chris is an active participant in the waste and resource recovery sector, regularly presenting at conferences and workshops and contributing to WasteMINZ projects. He chairs the WasteMINZ Organic Materials Sector Group Steering Committee, working on a range of key issues included Clopyralid, compostable plastics, biosolids and market development. In that role, he has regularly provided a sector perspective for the media.


For the WasteMINZ Board, Chris can bring:

  • A detailed understanding of the New Zealand waste and resource recovery sector including understanding where we have come from and where aim to get to.
  • Strong relationships across the sector – Chris works with the community sector, local government (staff and politicians) and commercial players.
  • A track record in finding ways to get things done – supporting decision making, engaging with diverse stakeholders, thinking outside of the box.
  • Enthusiasm for what we can achieve through effective collaboration across the sector.

        

As current chair of the Organic Materials Sector Group Steering Committee, Chris has seen first-hand the value of sector collaboration to address issues of common interest to the community, stakeholders and government. He would love the opportunity to bring this experience to the WasteMINZ Board alongside his extensive knowledge of waste and resource recovery in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific. 


With so much happening at a community, sector and government level it is more important than ever that we have a united voice and holistic approach to removing barriers and realising the opportunities in front of us. 

​​Craig Downie 

EcoCentral

Chief Executive

 

Craig Downie is the Chief Executive of EcoCentral Limited, a Christchurch CCTO processing waste and recycling for Christchurch and the wider Canterbury region. EcoCentral’s focus is on advocating for reduced consumption, maximising resource recovery and implementing innovative solutions. EcoCentral prides itself on helping people make good choices for the environment while supporting the circular economy through our business activities.

 

Craig has a strong background in engineering, operations and actioning strategic innovation. In the past 25 years, Craig has held senior management positions in several businesses across a range of disciplines. His passion is in finding better ways to do things, to innovate, be pragmatic and face the challenges head on.

 

In the past few years there has been a significant global shift in how waste and recycling is managed. As a nation we need to align individual strategies, be agile and innovate with purpose to secure our circular economy.

 

There are multiple solutions available, but finding the right long term fit for New Zealand is the challenge. The government is highly motivated to help make a difference and WasteMINZ is perfectly placed to support them and everyone in the industry across all levels.

 

WasteMINZ is the right platform to enable industry collaboration, to coordinate lobby for change and help provide a solution roadmap. Craig believes his skills and practical experience, coupled with EcoCentral’s people-centric focus will make a valuable contribution to the WasteMINZ Board.

​​Garth Lamb 

Re.Group

Chief Development Officer

 

Garth was hauled into the waste game as editor of Inside Waste magazine, before moving to Hyder Consulting (now Arcadis) where he headed up Australia’s leading team of strategic waste advisors.

 

Having worked with all levels of government, and private sector operators, he understands the complexities and challenges around sustainable waste management.

 

One flagship project during his years as a consultant was leading the delivery of the first national report that applied a consistent methodology to reporting waste data across all jurisdictions. In 2014 Garth took up a post with Re.Group, an innovative company that specialises in building and operating infrastructure to recover resources from waste – part of the critical infrastructure required in any modern society. His role as the Chief Development Officer involves leading the growth of Re.Group by helping its clients deliver sustainable solutions for their communities, across all urban waste streams. Re.Group today has the largest network of recycling facilities across Australasia, processing some 500,000 tonnes of recyclables and 1 billion used beverage containers annually. In 2024, Re.Group will commence its first operation in New Zealand, operating the Auckland MRF.

 

Garth was Chair and National President of the Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association of Australia (WMRR) from 2017 to 2021, during which time he played a key role in driving public communication around the impacts of China National Sword and the global recycling crisis. 


Garth is a strong communicator who is especially proud of his impact at WMRR in helping the sector find an effective voice and elevating waste and recycling issues to public prominence. 

​​Rod Lidgard

Pattle Delamore Partners Limited

Technical Director – Contaminated Land

    

Rod is a Technical Director – Contaminated Land at Pattle Delamore Partners Limited (PDP) and a Certified Environmental Practitioner – Site Contamination specialist (CEnvP SC).


Rod is a longstanding WasteMINZ member and avid supporter of the key values of the organisation. Rod has an established background in leading and delivering contaminated land and solid waste management projects for a great variety of public and private clients throughout NZ. He strives to support our industry from a governance position, ensuring that our united voice is clear on key issues, and is heard when it needs to be.


Rod has presented and chaired panels/sessions at several WasteMINZ conferences over the last few years and is currently a member of two WasteMINZ working groups which support the delivery of improved outcomes for: soil disposal sampling; and, shared geotechnical and contaminated land guidance on soil reuse (in partnership with New Zealand Geotechnical Society). Both groups cross several key areas of the WasteMINZ membership, and continued collaboration throughout the membership is a key outcome Rod wants to develop. Rod is also a key driver in the industry pushing our effective creation of a circular economy for soils in NZ; achieving some of the primary waste reduction and diversion objectives of Te Rautaki Para | Aotearoa NZ Waste Strategy.


As a born-and-raised New Zealander and dad to two young tamariki, he has a strong affinity with Māori and sustainability principles, which he wants to see recognised and woven into the work we do as an industry.


Rod is looking to join the WasteMINZ Board to provide a blend of both his technical skills and experience in the contaminated land and waste management space, and his proven ability to support the governance and strategic direction of an organisation from a board level.  Rod is an existing board member for a community not-for-profit organisation and a Member of the Institute of Directors NZ; demonstrating existing experience in organisational governance and an ability to ‘hit the ground running’.


Rod believes he will add further diversity of thought and an approachable and enthusiastic outcomes-based leader to the board table; support proactive approaches to industry issues as they are emerging; and improve alignment of WasteMINZ's members important views to our critical industry work.


He waka eke noa | We are all in this together.

​​Sandy Botterill 

Foodstuffs NZ

Head of Environmental Social Governance

 

Sandy Botterill started her career as an environmental lawyer and has an extensive background in strategy, transformation and change. Sandy is the Head of Environmental Social Governance (ESG) at Foodstuffs NZ.

 

Prior to her current role, she was working as the Circular Economy Lead with Plastics NZ helping Aotearoa to adopt circular economy principles for plastic, working closely with industry and the Ministry for the Environment on this programme of work.

 

Sandy is very proud of a number of initiatives she’s had the privilege to lead, namely:

  • Good Caps Programme – a pilot programme in primary schools aimed at the recovery of lids and caps, and teaching tamariki about the circular economy and why materials should be valued, and not seen as rubbish
  • Chair of Expanded Polystyrene Product Stewardship Steer Co – aligned to the development of Plastic Packaging Product Stewardship, a material specific group focused on product stewardship across B2B and B2C systems
  • Facilitator of Expanded Polystyrene Working Group – a group focused on research into EPS in the NZ context, including material flow as well as connecting to the wider region (via APCO) from a market perspective
  • Facilitator of Polypropylene Working Group – aimed to reduce the amount of #5 PP going to landfill across both post-consumer and post commercial channels
  • CircularConnect – a fund established to connect businesses to consultants who encouraged businesses toward product design that would enhance a low emission circular economy

 

Sandy also participates in a number of groups and committees:

  • Current Member of NZ Food Waste Champions 12.3
  • Current Member FGC Sustainability Committee
  • Previous Member of NZPPI Plastics Advisory Committee

 

Sandy is passionate about ESG – people, place and prosperity. She has strong experience in the circular economy, behavioural change, product labelling, design principles aligned to sustainable outcomes, resource recovery and product stewardship.

 

Sandy believes in WasteMINZ’s purpose, and would love to be part of the incredible mahi that’s enabled through WasteMINZ’s diverse membership.

 

Sandy has a Masters in Environmental Law with Honours and Post Graduate Diploma in Business from University of Auckland. 

FAQs

Voting process

How many votes does my organisation get?

Each membership level is eligible for a different number of votes, which will be outlined in the email sent to your primary contact, with your organisation's voting papers. 

To learn about the different levels of membership and how many votes each membership level receives, go to our Membership Options page. 

When will I receive voting papers?

Voting papers will be sent out to the primary contact of all paid-up financial members of WasteMINZ on Wednesday, 20 September. You will have until Friday, 6 October to cast your vote.


If your organisation pays its membership invoice during the voting period, your organisation's primary contact will receive voting papers within a week of payment. 

Why haven't I received voting papers?

If you haven't received voting papers, it may be as a result of two things:

  • Your organisation might not have paid this financial year's invoice for membership, or
  • You aren't your organisation's primary contact. 

If you're in an organisation with a number of votes, you'll need to contact your primary contact to discuss your preferred candidate. If you want to know who your primary contact is or want further information about payment details, contact cj@wasteminz.org.nz. 
When will the Board members be announced?

The new Board members will be announced at the WasteMINZ AGM on Wednesday, 18 October. This will be a hybrid event, with the in-person location (yet to be finalised) in Auckland. 

Nominating a Board candidate

Who can be nominated?

Anyone who is a paid-up financial member of WasteMINZ (i.e. anyone who has paid their 2023 membership invoice) can be nominated for the WasteMINZ Board. 

The only exception to this is for those who are under Student Memberships, as students are not eligible to be nominated for the Board. 


The Board elections process is determined by the WasteMINZ Rules, as adopted 20 October 2020. 

I want to stand for the Board - what do I need to do?

That's great! Make friends with another member of WasteMINZ, who has also fully paid their membership invoice, and ask them to nominate you. 


You, or your nominator, will need to fill out this nomination form, and have the following details handy:

  • The nominator details (including contact details, position and organisation)
  • The nominee details (including contact details, position and organisation)
  • Nominee bio and headshot. 

Your nominee bio should give WasteMINZ members a good understanding of who you are and why they should vote for you. 
What do Board nominees need to know?
Role of the Board: The role of the Board is to provide governance and strategic direction to WasteMINZ, monitor the organisation's performance, and protect the integrity of the organisation. You can read more about WasteMINZ's strategy here. 

Time commitment: We ask that any nominees consider the time commitment required to be an effective member of the Board. This will usually involve four Board meetings a year, as well as other WasteMINZ business which is conducted by email and video calls.

Overall, a minimum commitment of approximately one day every two months may be required. WasteMINZ Board members volunteer their time but are reimbursed for relevant expenses.


Board charter: The Board is guided by the Board Charter. Please read this if you are considering nomination – it provides an overview of the roles and responsibilities of the Board.







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