From cartons to wall boards

A recycling initiative which turns food and drink cartons into wall or "gib" board has come full circle in South Otago.

Clutha district’s first official saveBOARDs were set up recently in Owaka by resident Wendy De Boer.

The boards were a cheaper and more sustainable way to line walls in homes.

The boards are made from cartons such as classic soya milk.

Through work from various parts of the country, the cartons are transformed into the boards which are commonly used in construction to line interior walls and ceilings.

The trial has collected thousands of Tetra Pak cartons from drop-off points throughout the district.

The cartons are baled and sent to saveBOARD in Hamilton, a sustainable recycling and upcycling company that uses compression and heat to turn the cartons into wall board.

"These cartons are not accepted as kerbside recycling, due to their composite nature of cardboard, plastic and aluminium," Clutha District Council waste education officer Scott Martin said.

"To see the actual product being introduced back into South Otago from when the initiative first started is incredible.

"To see how successful this product is becoming, it’s really coming full circle."

"I’m stoked to hear Clutha district residents be innovative and embrace new technology such as this.

"It’s cheaper than your conventional gib board and innovative.

"What more could you want?"

One thing he wanted to make sure people knew was that the scheme did not affect ratepayers money, as some had questioned.

"It is just a collaborative community effort which started off from local support, and is now supporting locals."

Owaka resident Wendy De Boer has used some of the first saveBOARDs to line her bathroom in a renovation project she has been working on.

"We’ve always been do-it-yourselfers, all our lives," Mrs De Boer said.

"Since the early days we have recycled and knew something like this would become a thing.

"New Zealand is so far behind the rest of the world when it comes to innovation like this, so it’s a good step in the right direction."

She said the board was easy to install.

"When we did it, we just had to screw it on to the wall.

"We don’t even want to paint it, because with our blue sink we have, we find the colours from the recycled materials pop out more and it gives texture to the wall.

"It looks great.

"It’s a heavy board and you can get other colours, but we thought this was the best for this place.

"In an older house, it’s never going to be a million dollars, but it is going to be better.

"It wasn’t even a question for us to use it."