Conference presentations
Thank you for attending the WasteMINZ Conference 2025!
You can click on the links below to download the presentation slides from the event. They are listed by date, in order of appearance. Please refer to the conference programme for more information about the schedule.
Please note, some presenters did not want their slides to be shared on the website.
We also ask you not to share this with anyone who did not attend the conference, as this is unfair to those that paid for the conference. We will be sharing the presentations with wider membership in six months.
If you have any questions, please reach out to the WasteMINZ team.
Day 1 - Tuesday, 10 June
Morning sessions
Opening plenary session
- Lisa O’Neill
Being BOLD!
Building a future with less waste
- Felicity Johnson, Auckland Council & Simon Wilkinson, Wilkinson Environmental;
I don’t have time for that - Rosie Dawson-Hewes, 3R Group;
Building construction’s sustainability toolbox - Mark Roberts, Auckland Council;
Construction polystyrene, what's it doing out there? - Hannah Kelly, Tonkin + Taylor & Gareth Salisbury, Naylor Love
Timber waste: Uncovering the scale of the issue
Recycling the Earth: The power of biosolids
- Professor Brett Robinson, University of Canterbury
The beneficial reuse of biowastes to improve contaminated soils
From data to duty: Innovating waste management through traceability, smarter systems & partnerships
- Rebecca Berendt, GS1 New Zealand
Collecting and connecting data with digital standards - Stefan Borowy, Morrison Low
In, out........ license it all about! - Justine Haves Auckland Council, Greer Larsen Compton & Daniel Yallop Re.Group Pty
A bold new approach for the Auckland Council Materials Recovery Facility
AI in waste management, is it our future?
- Cole Armstrong, NeuroSpot – Behaviour Change & Marcus Braithwaite, Auckland Council
Behaviour change meets technology: Tackling recycling contamination - Chris Aughton & Shane Burke, Enviro NZ & Brent Sutton Learning Teams INC
AI and worker engagement. Improving safety outcomes in sites with dynamic risk
Afternoon sessions
Closing the loop
- Andrew McCarthy, Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment
Material flows in NZ economy - Sandy Botterill, Foodstuffs NZ
The circular economy in Aotearoa – from dream to reality
Shocking waste, the problem with batteries
- Lyndon Collie, Auckland Council
Lithium-ion batteries and their dangers in the waste industry - Anthony Dixon GHD & Nathan Clarke, Nelson City and Tasman
District Councils
Landfill facility fires and the importance of being prepared - Hilary West-Reeve & Jasmine Faulkner, Phoenix Recycling Group
Recycling for our future
Unleashing resources: Turning old soil into new opportunities
- Sarah Ensoll & Nigel Mather, SLR Consulting
Smart soil strategies: A Brownfield development fable - Bridget Derham, Fulton Hogan
An unpalatable cocktail of PFAS and asbestos - Lucie Kibblewhite, Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Soil management during a nationwide electric vehicle roll out - Graham Aveyard, Gaia Environmental
Navigating the path to sustainable soil remediation: Reflections and learnings from the overseas
Let's get technical
- Daniel Su Ming Tan, Tonkin + Taylor & Darren Hoskins, Wellington City Council
Southern Landfill Extension Piggyback Option (SLEPO) - An innovative ‘cradle’ landfill design - Judah Lebow, SLR Consulting
Dangerous fugitives - Gavin Hedley, University of Canterbury
Unlocking the potential of landfill gas - Nicolas Franco, Riley Consultants
Unmasking carbon dioxide sources: A data driven approach for safer redevelopment
Day 2 - Wednesday, 11 June
Morning sessions
The big picture
- Jeffrey Clarke, GasNZ
Harvesting low-hanging fruit: Anaerobic digestion - Darren Tiddy, Morrison Low
Waste not, want not: Efficient infrastructure planning and delivery
He rau ringa e oti ai, many hands make light work
- Matthew Luxon & Carla van Walen, Localised
6 years of partnerships - the ups and downs - Adrienne Kozlowski, Tonkin + Taylor
The wins and challenges of collaboration in waste management - Georgie Ferrari, Sustainability Trust & Shelali Shetty, Wellington City Council
The bold and the beautiful: The partnership behind Te Aro Zero Waste
Lessons learnt, turning waste to wisdom
- Ross Paniora, Christchurch City Council
Te Mahi Ngātahi: Working collaboratively - Kate Fenwick, Waste-Ed with Kate
TikTok, reels, the“algorithm”, and behaviour change! - Jenny Elliott & Darren Hoskins, Wellington City Council
Transforming adversaries into allies: The journey of a city landfill project from vision to reality
Buried risks: A strategic approach to closed landfills
- Terry Widdowson & Charlotte Rayner, AECOM
Closed landfill monitoring – compliance or complacency? - Andrea Tuohy, Tonkin + Taylor & Alec McNeil, Christchurch City Council
Closed landfill portfolio management – progress towards a proactive adaptive management tool for strategic prioritisation of sites - Barton Bauzon, Auckland Council
Resilience in legacy landfills aftercare management (and it’s not just about climate change!)
Afternoon sessions
Plenary session
- Holly Bennett, Awhi
Lobbying: Evil, or just misunderstood? - Jon Duffy, Consumer NZ
Advocacy in the NGO space: Representing the public interest in an unequal system
Collaborative session
- Jo Ferry, Tonkin + Taylor
Setting up the waste and resource recovery industry for a bold future
Reuse and refill
- Gradon Diprose, Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research & Hannah Blumhardt, Reuse Aotearoa
Reusable packaging in the grocery sector: Understanding impacts and outcomes - Debra Goulding, Foodstuffs NZ & Louise Nash, Circularity
Is a returnable container system scalable across NZ retail grocery?
Cleaning up the chaos from disaster
- Cameron Burton
Does it all need to go there? Pre-planning disaster waste journeys using geospatial analysis - Connor Wilson, University of Canterbury & Jack Grinsted, Environment Canterbury
Estimation of disaster waste and debris across the Canterbury region - Michael LeRoy-Dyson, Rocat Consulting & Claude Dewerse, EMENZ
Maximising resource recovery in Auckland’s post-disaster housing relocation
Together for impact: Fostering collaboration
- Panellists: Courtney Armstrong, Auckland Council, Rachel Rait, Department of Conservation, Tess Brothersen, Stantec & Chris Hillman, Tonkin + Taylor
Facilitator: James Corbett, Auckland Council
Delivering on client expectations
Day 3 - Thursday, 12 June
Effective science communication
- Dr Jess Berentson-Shaw, The Workshop
Effective science communication
Waste world tour: Snapshots
- Sue Coutts, Zero Waste Network Aotearoa
So, what’s the latest with the incinerator proposals? - Wayne Gazley, Keep New Zealand Beautiful
Back from the brink - Andrew Boyd, Selwyn District Council
Project Reconnect: People – Resources – Environment - Cam Edwards & Adele Rose, 3R Group
Tyres: From zero to (tracking) millions - Janine Brinsdon, Cool-Safe
Cool-Safe - New Zealand’s Product Stewardship Scheme for refrigerants - Julia Barton, Porirua City Council
Repurposing, one polo at a time… - Amanda Robinson, The Lightfoot Initiative Charitable Trust & Emma Brockie, Queenstown Lakes District Council
Crunching waste: A collaborative approach to bicycle waste reduction
From theory to impact
- Kimberley Hope, Tonkin + Taylor
Theory vs reality – did what we think would happen, actually happen? - Helena Ruffell, University of Canterbury
The waste in our waste: Microplastics contaminate organic wastes destined for land application - Kapish Gobindlal, Environmental Decontamination (NZ)
Mechanochemistry and waste management
Digging deeper: Uncovering stories in contaminated land management
- Adrian Roberts, GHD
Leachate management during catastrophic weather conditions: What can we do when the abnormal becomes business as usual? - Greg Slaughter, WM New Zealand & Helen Ramsey, Morrison Low
Project Reclaim – excellence in collaboration to deliver positive environmental outcomes - Ben Waterhouse, Beca
The Ōtākaro Avon River Corridor Regeneration Project - Jonathan Caldwell, Waikato Regional Council
When the river runs orange
Closing Plenary
WasteMINZ exists to make a positive environmental impact on Aotearoa New Zealand
