Tech and Environment – Samsung New Zealand Delivers on Commitment to Tackle the Pacific Islands’ E-Waste Crisis

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February 14, 2025

Source: Samsung

Samsung ships over 38 tons of e-waste to New Zealand for responsible recycling

AUCKLAND, NZ – February 14, 2025 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is proud to announce that it has fulfilled its commitment to addressing the growing e-waste crisis in the Pacific Islands. In partnership with Blue Orca and Echo, Samsung New Zealand has successfully facilitated the transportation and recycling of over 38 tonnes of end-of-life appliances, electrical, and electronic equipment, collected across the Pacific Islands.

In 2024, Samsung New Zealand engaged Blue Orca to assess e-waste challenges across five Pacific Islands – Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, and Timor-Leste. The assessment revealed a lack of local recycling infrastructure, raising concerns about the environmental impact of unmanaged e-waste in the region.

“The absence of local recycling options and the severe environmental consequences outlined in the report pushed us to take action,” said Shannon Watts, Marketing Director, Samsung Electronics New Zealand. “Through our collaboration with Blue Orca and recycling partner Echo, we’ve been able to drive meaningful change and address the critical e-waste issue facing Pacific Island communities. This initiative helps protect the environment and supports local communities by ensuring responsible recycling of electronic waste.”

Samsung, Blue Orca, and Echo achieved a significant milestone by collecting and transporting 38,502 kg of e-waste from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and the Cook Islands to New Zealand for recycling. This effort resulted in the prevention of 228 kg of toxic metals from contaminating the soil and avoided 11,042 kg of greenhouse gas emissions, contributing to the protection of the environment and benefiting local communities.

“This initiative is a crucial step toward mitigating the environmental impact of e-waste in the Pacific Islands. It’s a testament to the power of collaboration between Samsung, Blue Orca, and Echo,” added Watts. “We’re proud to have played a role in diverting a significant volume of end-of-life electronics from landfills, ensuring they are now being recycled ethically and responsibly.”

This Pacific Islands recycling program further supports Samsung New Zealand’s ongoing commitment to its global Everyday Sustainability Environmental Strategy, as part of the company’s efforts to contribute to tackle climate change. Over the past two years, Samsung New Zealand, in collaboration with Echo, has successfully recycled more than 73 tonnes of e-waste through local collection drives in Auckland. These initiatives empower New Zealanders to take responsibility for recycling their electronic waste, ensuring that it is handled responsibly and sustainably.

E-Waste Collection Breakdown:

Total e-waste collected: 38,502 kg

Greenhouse gas emissions avoided: 11,042 kg

Toxic metals diverted from landfill: 228 kg

Island Breakdown:

Fiji:

• 4,328 kg of e-waste collected

• 1,241 kg of greenhouse gas emissions avoided

• 25.6 kg of toxic metals diverted from landfill

Tonga:

• 13,863 kg of e-waste collected

• 3,976 kg of greenhouse gas emissions avoided

• 81.99 kg of toxic metals diverted from landfill

Samoa:

• 12,911 kg of e-waste collected

• 3,702.8 kg of greenhouse gas emissions avoided

• 76.35 kg of toxic metals diverted from landfill

Cook Islands:

• 7,400 kg of e-waste collected

• 2,122 kg of greenhouse gas emissions avoided

• 43.77 kg of toxic metals diverted from landfill.

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.

Samsung inspires the world and shapes the future with transformative ideas and technologies. The company is redefining the worlds of TVs, smartphones, wearable devices, tablets, digital appliances, network systems, and memory, system LSI, foundry and LED solutions. For the latest news, please visit the Samsung Newsroom at news.samsung.com.

MIL OSI

Government Cuts – Funded annual health checks would prevent 100+ deaths a year – IHC

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February 14, 2025

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Source: IHC New Zealand

Funded annual health checks for people with intellectual disability will prevent more than 100 deaths a year and significantly reduce hospital admissions, saving $16.5 million annually – more than enough to cover the $13 million cost of the checks themselves, says IHC New Zealand.

In a New Zealand Medical Journal article released today, IHC Advocate Shara Turner says it’s unacceptable that intellectually disabled New Zealanders should die much earlier than other New Zealanders, for preventable reasons.

“Intellectually disabled people have the highest mortality risk of any group, with a life expectancy of up to 22 years shorter than the general population,” says Shara.

“They are 2.7 times more likely to be admitted to the emergency department, 3.6 times more likely to be admitted to hospital for a condition that could have been avoided and have higher rates of lung disease, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and mental health conditions.

“We are urging the Government to see that annual health checks could lower the risk of early mortality for intellectually disabled people by up to 35 percent.”

IHC’s own cost-benefit analysis using Treasury’s CBAx tool for healthcare costs shows that annual health checks would be fiscally positive and viable.

Shara says there is robust international evidence about the benefits of the annual health check for this population.

“Universal health checks for intellectually disabled people have been implemented in Australia and the United Kingdom since 2007, providing a proven and pragmatic model that could be adapted for Aotearoa New Zealand,” says Shara. “These checks would not only improve health outcomes but also relieve pressure on emergency departments and cut healthcare costs.”

“Now is the time to act – investing in annual health checks can help close the health gap and ensure better, longer lives for one of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most vulnerable populations.”

About IHC New Zealand

IHC New Zealand advocates for the rights, inclusion and welfare of all people with intellectual disabilities and supports them to live satisfying lives in the community. IHC provides advocacy, volunteering, events, membership associations and fundraising. It is part of the IHC Group, which also includes IDEA Services, Choices NZ and Accessible Properties.

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Fireworks and open air fires prohibited in Strath Taieri zone

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February 14, 2025

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Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has declared a prohibited fire season in Otago’s Strath Taieri zone from 8am on Saturday 15 February, until further notice.

A prohibited fire season means no open-air fires are allowed and all fire permits are suspended.

Fireworks will also be prohibited in Strath Taieri, which is possible under Section 52 of the Fire and Emergency Act.

Strath Taieri is a large area of land in Otago which includes the Taieri River, the Rock and Pillar Range and the town of Middlemarch.

Fire and Emergency Otago District Manager Phil Marsh says the area has an abundance of grass and scrub and experiences hot dry summers.

“The current dry conditions are expected to continue, with blustery westerly winds forecast for the remainder of summer and into autumn,” he says.

“This combination presents a very high fire risk, as dry grass and scrub can ignite easily and fire will rapidly spread.

“As part of our ongoing efforts to reduce the risk of wildfire, we are also putting a ban on fireworks.

“It only takes one spark to start a wildfire. The risk is far too high in these dry and windy conditions.”

The Strath Taieri zone includes Te Papanui Conservation Park, home to a huge variety of native plants and animals.

“We are urging everybody to do their part to protect this area from wildfire,” Phil Marsh says.

“Along with the ban on fireworks, we ask people to be vigilant with other heat or spark-generating activities.

“Using machinery or power tools and parking or driving vehicles near dry vegetation have the potential to start a wildfire that will spread quickly. You should avoid these activities on hot, windy days.

“If you are camping in the area, always set up your gas cooker on a stable surface and away from long, dry grass.

Please take extra care this weekend as the fire danger will be elevated in Strath Taieri and across Otago.

MIL OSI

Timaru traffic delays from Monday, Evans St/SH1

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February 14, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Drivers are reminded to allow extra time travelling on SH1 through Timaru over the next few months as work starts on a new Timaru District Council watermain near the Showgrounds on Monday, 17 February.

Evans St, between Grants Road and Waimataitai Street, is the area affected. (See map below). The watermain replacement work is expected to run into winter (May/June) and is weather dependent.

Work hours will be 7.30 am to 6 pm.

“There will be reduced lane widths and 30km/h temporary speed limits in the area which are likely to cause additional congestion and queue lengths especially at peak travel times,” says Chris Chambers, Maintenance Contract Manager South Canterbury, NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA).

“Drivers should plan ahead and consider alternative routes if they want to avoid delays,” he says.

More road work coming from NZTA, early March

Early in March, NZTA will begin resurfacing a section of SH1 Evans St between Beverley Road and Te Weka St, south of the watermain works.

“We know that these multiple worksites will cause delays through Timaru,” says Mr Chambers. “But we are also pleased to be getting these road improvements underway after several years of patching and holding repairs.”

To help ease the pressure please build extra time into your travel and avoid roadworks sites during peak times if you can, he says.

Updates here: https://www.journeys.nzta.govt.nz/highway-conditions/canterbury/roadworks/497319(external link)

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Upcoming Auckland state highway closures

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February 14, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Key maintenance works will see upcoming closures on two busy Auckland state highways.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) asks people to plan ahead and allow additional time for their journeys if traveling during these works.

State Highway 1 – Central Motorway Junction night closures (10pm to 5am)

A full northbound closure on State Highway 1 (SH1) between the Ellerslie Panmure Hwy and Symonds St will be in place on Sunday 16 and Monday 17 February.
A full northbound closure between Mt Wellington Hwy and Ellerslie Panmure Hwy will be in place Tuesday 18 February.
A full northbound closure between the Ellerslie Panmure Hwy and Gillies Ave on Wednesday 19 and Thursday 20 February, for road resurfacing. Work will continue into the following week from Monday 24 to Thursday 27 February.

Motorists traveling northbound on SH1 from Ellerslie to the Central Motorway Junction should detour via Great South Rd, Broadway, Khyber Pass and Grafton Rd to the State Highway 16 Wellesley St westbound on-ramp, where they can rejoin SH1.

Motorists traveling northbound on SH1 to State Highway 16 westbound should detour via Great South Road, Greenlane West, Balmoral Rd and St Lukes Rd.

Motorists traveling northbound on SH1 from Mt Wellington Hwy to Ellerslie should detour via Great South Road.

Detours will be signposted and are expected to add no more than 15 minutes to northbound journeys.

As well as ensuring a smooth, skid-resistant surface, road resurfacing helps to protect the important structural layers underneath, improves watertightness to help prevent potholes, and extends the life of the road.

State Highway 18 – Tauhinu Road to Albany Highway night closures (9pm to 5am)

Overnight closures of State Highway 18 eastbound between Tauhinu Rd and Albany Hwy will take place over 10 nights in late February and early March while contractors reconstruct the road.

Closures will take place between 9pm and 5am on the following dates:

Sunday 16 February to Tuesday 18 February
Sunday 23 February
Thursday 27 February
Sunday 2 March to Wednesday 5 March
Sunday 9 March

During the closure, road users will be detoured via Upper Harbour Drive. The detour route will be signposted and is expected to add less than 10 minutes to eastbound journeys.

Rebuilding the road, which often involves replacing all or most of the structural road layers, improves the longevity of the network, the resilience and ultimately the safety and efficiency for all road users. Nearby residents can expect increased noise during the works, however, contractors will work to minimise disruption as much as possible.

For more information about the road reconstruction works, visit: SH18 Tauhinu Road to Albany Highway(external link)

These works are weather dependent and there may be changes to the planned works in the case of unsuitable weather. Please visit the NZTA Journey Planner website (journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)) for up-to-date information, including any changes due to weather.

NZTA thanks everyone for their patience as we carry out these important works.

MIL OSI

SH2 Waipawa road rebuild taking shape

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February 14, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

Roading crews are making good progress on the SH2 road rebuild (rehabilitation) in Waipawa between Victoria Street and Tamumu Road.

The first stage of work, installing kerb and channel, has now been finished with more than 360 metres of concrete poured in the installation.

The focus now shifts to the rebuild of this stretch of road. Crews will begin from next Monday (17 February), working at night for approximately 4 weeks.

The work will be carried out under stop/go traffic management between 8pm and 5am Mondays to Fridays (finishing each week at 5am on Saturday).

The rebuild will be done section by section to reduce traffic impacts and during the work, access for residents and businesses will remain and there will be on street parking – just not on the section of state highway being worked on.

Rebuilding the road will involve recycling the existing road materials with cement added to the road, to extend the life of the road and provide a smoother surface, improving the journey through this stretch of road.

At the same time, Central Hawke’s Bay District Council was scheduled to complete work on the southbound footpath this year, which was beside the area of State Highway 2 that NZTA is working on. The two organisations aligned on this renewal, with NZTA contractors completing the road and Council-funded footpath construction work at the same time– minimising costs and disruptions to ratepayers.

“State Highway 2 is the road that keeps us connected to each other, and the rest of the country,” says the council’s Community Infrastructure and Development General Manager Mark Kinvig.

“The road’s part to play in the economic growth of the district and the accessibility it creates, allowing people to move around, cannot be underplayed.

“Working together delivers what the community wants and needs, but for a lot less money.

“This translates into better roads for everyone,” says Mr Kinvig.

At this stage, the rebuild project is expected to be complete mid-March, slightly earlier than initially planned.

“We know this work has already involved some disruption to businesses and the community and we’re grateful for people’s support – without it, the works would undoubtedly take longer to complete,” says NZTA Regional Manager of Maintenance and Operations Rua Pani.

SH2 resealing between Waipukurau and Takapau – day work

Starting this week, a stretch of SH2 between Takapau and Waipukurau will be resealed over the next 6 weeks.

Crews will be working onsite Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm each weekday.

The road will be under stop/go traffic management and road users should expect possible delays of up to 20 minutes.

MIL OSI

Waikato & Bay of Plenty state highway works February 2025

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February 14, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Transport Agency

When the sun continues to shine, road workers across the Waikato and Bay of Plenty are continuing to make significant progress on many worksites.

NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi (NZTA) and its contractors are completing an ambitious programme to improve safety and resilience of the state highway network, making the most of the summer months in which they’re able to reseal and re-construct roads, says Sandra King, Bay of Plenty System Manager.

“The recent spell of good weather has allowed our contractors to make great progress on their maintenance programmes, some ahead of schedule, across both regions. Examples include completing the rebuild of both State Highway 2 north of Tauranga at Snodgrass Road and State Highway 27 in Matamata, several asphalting sites on State Highway 29 Kaimai Range and the scheduled closure on the Kaimai Range.

“We appreciate everyone’s patience, especially where we have road closures and detours, or multiple worksites in the same area. This scale of work shows our investment in the region, and commitment to improving people’s journeys.

“Due to the work taking place there will inevitably be delays to some journeys. As always, our key focus is to keep road users and contracting crews safe at all times,” says Ms King.

This work forms part of the government’s $2.07 billion investment into road and drainage renewal and maintenance across 2024-27 via the State Highway Pothole Prevention fund.

To plan ahead and see where disruptive works are, people can use the NZTA Journey Planner (journeys.nzta.govt.nz(external link)) This is kept up to date in real time so you can see all disruptive activity and potential hazards on the state highway network.

Waikato Bay of Plenty works as at 14 February 2025 [PDF, 510 KB]

MIL OSI

Release: Nicola Willis tone deaf as 230 jobs lost

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February 14, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Labour Party

Nicola Willis thought it was the perfect time to celebrate today, while 230 people lost their jobs.

Her press release titled ‘Manufacturing increase welcomed’ landed as the people of Tokoroa are only just coming to terms with the closure of the Kinleith paper mill.

“Talk about tone deaf. People are hurting, whānau don’t know what to do, and instead of showing any kind of humility, Nicola Willis is sitting in her Beehive office patting herself on the back,” Labour Employment Spokesperson Willie Jackson said.

“As she is crowing about the sector doing well, 230 people no longer have a job or an income.

“Many of them would have thought the Government would act. Especially after the Deputy Prime Minister promised he’d do something about it. Instead, they’ve let the paper mill close with no plan to help the workers and Nicola Willis thought it was her time to shine.

“Shame on her, and shame on this Government for doing nothing,” Willie Jackson said.

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Release: Students misled on halal school lunches

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February 14, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Labour Party

It’s been revealed that Muslim students have been misled on the Government’s school lunches, which were claimed to be halal.

“It’s unacceptable that our Muslim students were served a meal that David Seymour’s lunch provider said was halal, when it fact it wasn’t,” Labour’s Ethnic Communities Spokesperson Jenny Salesa said.

“Claiming a meal is religiously permissible for groups of students when it isn’t, breaks a trust we have fought long and hard to establish with communities who have long called Aotearoa home.

“New Zealand is a culturally diverse nation, rich with people of all backgrounds and faiths – and they should feel comfortable expressing their identities here.

“I back my local school principal in her push to ensure halal school lunches are as they claim to be, halal-certified.

“David Seymour must front up and apologise to these students and their families for a false claim that has resulted in disrespect to their faith,” Jenny Salesa said.

“It seems with each passing day, we hear about another mishap with David Seymour’s school lunches. First they were arriving late or not at all, then it was schools having to cover extra costs for distribution and clean up, and now they’re misleading religious students,” said Education Spokesperson Jan Tinetti.

“They should have never tampered with these school lunches in the first place, but now they’ve created a huge mess that is distracting our students’ from their learning and causing headaches for schools across the country.”

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Homemade taser found following flee

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February 14, 2025

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Source: New Zealand Police (National News)

Officers who attempted to stop a vehicle in Drury have taken a homemade weapon off the streets after the driver fled from Police.

At about 2.50pm yesterday, Police signalled for a vehicle on Great South Road to stop, however it failed to do so and continued on towards Papakura.

Counties Manukau South Area Prevention Manager, Inspector Matt Hoyes, says the vehicle was on Te Napi Drive, Takanini after it had stopped.

“Staff have quickly taken the driver into custody and a search of the vehicle has located a homemade taser, shotgun shell and ammunition.

“This is a great result and yet another example that we are committed to keeping offensive weapons such as these out of our community.”

A 29-year-old man will appear in Papakura District Court on 20 February charged with possession of an offensive weapon, unlawful possession of a restricted weapon, unlawful possession of ammunition and cannabis possession.

ENDS.

Holly McKay/NZ Police

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