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Plastic – Kim Hill Hot Topic

Name: Plastic – Kim Hill Hot Topic
Start: 2024-03-28T18:30:00+13:00
End: 2024-03-28T21:00:00+13:00
Location: Lincoln University

March 28 @ 6:30 pm – 9:00 pm

$5 KOHA. Cash on the door

Join Kim Hill and panellists in a stimulating discussion on Plastic. As per tradition, the well-known Radio personality Kim Hill will lead a panel of experts who will discuss this year’s topic “PLASTIC – how do we live with it”. Once the panel have deliberated their varying views, the audience will be invited to question panel members.

Issues relating to the problems associated with our overuse of plastic have been prevalent for many years and its disastrous impacts on ocean life are well catalogued. The panelists will discuss all issues relating to how essential plastic might be, our ability to reduce consumption, and our means of recycling the plastic we use.

The evening is always a well-attended stimulating and enjoyable occasion; all are welcome.

Panellists:

Rob Wilson

Operations Manager, Eco Central

Rob is the Operations Manager for EcoCentral Limited, a Christchurch City Council owned business operating the three Refuse Transfer Stations and Resource Recovery Centres, Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), and EcoShop resale Shop. EcoCentral’s MRF is the second largest semi-automated sorting plant in NZ and processing kerbside recycling for Christchurch City Council, Waimakariri District Council, Selwyn District Council and a number of other smaller councils in the Canterbury region.

Over the last 15+ years, Rob has been involved in Residential Kerbside Collection contracts, Commercial Waste, Earthquake Construction and Demolition processing and most recently Transfer Station and Recycling plant operation. Rob and EcoCentral have contributed to the Transforming Recycling and recent standardising kerbside discussions providing unbiased processing perspectives to the challenges presented by current packing approaches. EcoCentral focusses their attention on finding ways to make dealing with unwanted products easy and promote avenues to avoid and reduce waste, reuse and recover unwanted products and contribute to a more circular approach in NZ.

Rob brings an operator’s perspective to the world of waste, seeking practical solutions to minimise and avoid waste in the first place and then promoting easily recoverable and recyclable material for the remaining items so that they can be reprocessed back into other products.

Rob Wilson is currently a member of the WasteMINZ Product Stewardship Steering Committee, Reuse Working Group and the Recycling and Resource Recovery Steering Committee.

Rachel Barker

CEO, Plastics New Zealand

With a strong technical background in product development, plastics processing and polymers, Rachel Barker has a passion for helping her Members and the wider NZ resource recovery system transition successfully to a circular plastics economy. Rachel’s broad experience with local and international plastics regulations, and various groups across plastics, resource recovery, and manufacturing provides an excellent base for sharing insights with stakeholders.

Prof. Ian Shaw

Professor, Canterbury University

Ian Shaw is Professor of Toxicology at the University of Canterbury. He is an international expert on the impact of environmental contaminants on human health, particularly in a food safety context and particularly relating to plastics. He has had over 40 years’ experience in academia, industry and government, in the UK, New Zealand and Indonesia, which includes chairing the UK Pesticide Residues Committee and working as the National Food Safety Programme Manager at the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR).

He has been a member of several NZ government advisory committees including health impacts of climate change, fortification of food with folate and setting statutory limits for drug driving offences. Ian has written about 150 papers – his latest explores microplastics as a cause of early onset colorectal cancer. He has written or edited 5 books (with a 6^th due out in January 2024) – he recently co-edited Plastic Legacies which explores the social science and environmental impacts of plastics. Ian is a passionate communicator of science: he won the NZ Association of Scientists’ Science Communicator’s Award in 2009, but his greatest joy is being awarded Science Lecturer of the Year by the University of Canterbury Students’ Association in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020. He was awarded a DSc by the University of Bath for his work in toxicology, food safety and science communication in 2019.

Prof. Gavin Lear

Professor, Auckland University

Gavin is a Professor at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Auckland. His group explores how microbial communities adapt to human influences such as pollution events and agricultural management. A particular focus of Gavin’s research is to better understand how changes to microbial communities impact environmental health and production potential. Gavin is a key member of the Aotearoa Impacts and Mitigation of Microplastics team, undertaking the first comprehensive research to quantify the impacts of plastics on the New Zealand environment.

Event Details:

Booking is not required. Doors open 6.30 pm, Event starts 7.30 pm in Stewart Building, Lincoln University.

Refreshments and nibbles are provided with alcoholic beverages available from a cash bar.

Contact Lincoln Envirotown Trust

+64 3 423 0445

projectmanagerlet@gmail.com

Lincoln University

Ellesmere Junction Road/Springs Road
Lincoln, 7647 New Zealand + Google Map

Sponsors:
We extend our sincere appreciation to all our sponsors Rata Foundation, Selwyn District Council, COGS, Lottery Community, Lincoln University, Plant & Food Research, Environment Canterbury, AgResearch, Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, Resycl Ltd, Without Waste, ESR.

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Our Sponsors
A big thank you to our wonderful sponsors! We extend our sincere appreciation to all our sponsors, Rata Foundation, Selwyn District Council, COGS, Lottery Community, Lincoln University, Creative Communities Scheme, Lincoln Community Trust, Lincoln Community Committee.