Norfolk Island: Taking Leaps and Bounds in Doing Right By the Planet

In January, I was super chuffed to see the holiday house we were staying at was supplying better choice toilet paper, so chuffed in fact, that I posted a photo of me in the toilet to my Facebook page!

Picturing that then, you can imagine my excitement, when a few months later, I arrived at my accommodation (the lovely and highly recommended Endeavour Lodge) on Norfolk Island and noticed a communal waste station set up for all the cabins to use, found a composting bucket under the sink and opened the local Discover Norfolk magazine, to see a multiple paged article about an island eco shop and recycling centre. My excitement was palpable and finding these places went straight to the top of my ‘Things to Do on Norfolk’ list!  

Granted, I’d say I’m pretty eco aware so I’m always noticing stuff (be it good or bad) but seriously, even the most unobservant, non eco aware person would be hard pressed not to notice the fabulous effort that Norfolk Island is making for their immediate environment and for the planet and yet, it’s totally in your face without being totally in your face if you know what I mean.

Norfolk is an island gently guiding locals and visitors to change their everyday habits and encouraging them to choose better choices. (Gosh… no wonder the place resonated with me so much!)

 So how are they doing it?

 Notice Boards and Window Signage

Many shop windows and notice boards around the island display information which encourages sustainable practices. Subtle, but super effective because both are frequently looked at by locals and visitors; they increase awareness and provide education which hopefully leads to behavioural change. The signs/posters/flyers that I saw included:

  • Ways to conserve water by being water smart

  • Reminders to use reusable bags, water bottles and coffee cup – complete with directions on where you could get these items if you don’t already have them which I think is especially good for island visitors.

  • Notices on how to sort your rubbish and why to do it

 Boomerang Bags

The Norfolk Island branch of Boomerang Bags is alive and thriving! Since 2015 this group of volunteers (you don’t even have to know how to sew!) meet twice a week and are making over 4000 reusable cotton bags every year and it’s awesome to see them everywhere on the island!

They regularly make four different sized bags – large carry bags for the supermarket, a smaller size for places like the chemist, a narrow heavier duty bag for the bottle shop and produce bags for fruit and vegetables. They also make bags for special occasions for example, every year when a child starts school for the first time, they receive their very own Boomerang Bag book bag! The bags are made from discarded textiles that would otherwise be destined for landfill, like curtains, doona covers and pillowslips.

There are bag stands everywhere - at the supermarkets, outside specialty shops, in the visitor centre and even at the airport. (just in case you do any last-minute shopping!)  Bags can be borrowed and returned or if you find one you really like, for a small donation you can keep it. Most have a little Norfolk Island Boomerang Bags label stitched to the front so the bag itself is a practical and better choice keepsake from your holiday.

Best of all, locals and island visitors use them, so much so that in the week I spent on the island I only saw two plastic bags being carried down the street!

 Prinke Eco Store

Established in 2018, physically, it’s not the biggest of buildings, but boy, what co-owners Sharyn and Claire manage to put into the Prinke Eco Store space is huge and is the true definition of a one stop shop!

It’s a bulk food store where customers can purchase their pantry staples in any quantity that they need, whether it’s a lot or just a little bit. This cuts down on food waste and by customers bring their own containers or borrowing a recycled jar; it means there is no packaging waste either.

It’s a café with seating inside and out that offers breakfast, lunch, sweet and savoury snacks and hot or cold drinks. If you decide to take away, but didn’t BYO reusable mug, there’s a wall of ‘library’ mugs that you can borrow.

It’s a locally grown greengrocer – a hub where the locals can bring their home-grown fruit, vegetables, eggs and home-made jams and chutneys. It doesn’t get much fresher than that! There’s no packaging waste, almost zero food miles (it’s a very small island) and costs less than produce bought in from the mainland.

It’s a better choice product shop. Wandering around the shop and seeing so many of the products that I stock at Healthy Clean and Green displayed so nicely on permanent shelves, I admit to having had a touch of shop envy – a market stall set up just doesn’t look the same!

Like myself, Sharyn and Claire do the behind-the-scenes hard yards in researching and choosing the products they stock to ensure what they are offering customers is truly a better choice option and I was chuffed to see that we had come to the same conclusion on so many products.

It’s a fabulous little gift shop that stocks some really cool locally made gift items, supporting and showcasing local artists. Lots of them are made with the reuse / repurpose philosophy in mind, like candle jars and drinking glasses made from empty wine bottles and clutch bags and coin purses created out of milk cartons! Handmade kids clothes, aprons, tea towels and wall art. There are some very talented people in the world and some of them reside on Norfolk Island!

 Waste Stations (aka Garbage Bins)

A common gripe I have when I’m out and about, whether it be where I live or when I’m travelling, is that there never seems to be many bins and if there is a bin, it is usually exactly that, one bin where all the rubbish gets thrown in together and then that bin gets emptied into landfill. But not on Norfolk Island!

You never have to look too far to find a place to put your rubbish but they don’t just have bins, they have complete WASTE STATIONS! I typed that in capitals because I really feel like it needs stars around it, with angels and harp music or something because they really are a sight to behold. They are:

  • Clean and never overflowing because they are emptied often

  • Colourful. You can’t miss them which means no excuses not to use them!

  • Clearly labelled which means no excuses for putting your rubbish into the wrong bin! There are five bin categories. Food and Organic Waste, Glass, Sanitary Waste, Hazardous Waste and “Recyclapod” waste, which includes plastic, cardboard, and metals.  

  • Just magnificent. In my opinion. Yes, I realise I sound slightly deranged right now and no, until now I never realised I was so obsessed with bins!

 The Norfolk Wave Recycling Centre

 Ok, this place and the dedicated team that work there are just phenomenal and totally inspiring!

I’m pretty sure that visitors to Norfolk Island don’t usually have this place on their ‘must see’ itinerary though, cause the lady we stopped and talked too as we drove around the centre taking happy snaps out the window seemed a little shocked and so confused by what we were doing!

 In August of 2023, the Norfolk’s Waste Management Centre evolved into The Norfolk Wave Recycling Centre and within just 3 months managed to divert a massive 74% of island rubbish from being sent to landfill!

 And when I say sent, I mean sent –

Because of the unacceptable risk that a landfill site would present to groundwater, which is the island’s primary water resource, there is no landfill options on Norfolk Island meaning that until recently they have to export their waste to landfill or recycling facilities on the Australian mainland which is approximately 1600km away! An article in govermentnews.com.au in 2022 quoted island Manager of Environment and Planning, Philip Reid as saying that waste was flown to the mainland ‘at around $1,400 per tonne.’ Prior to 2022, the island had dealt with their waste by burning it in an opening incinerator, with the residue dumped of the edge of a cliff into the ocean. I’m talking all rubbish here, including things like old fridges and even cars!! Knowing these things just makes what the centre does all the more phenomenal!

So what happens there:

  • Food scraps, paper towels and other compostables are turned into garden compost

  • Glass gets turned into four different grades of glass sand which is then used to supplement building and construction needs without having to mine sand from the local beaches.

  • Cardboard and timber waste that doesn’t make it into the compost is being transformed into biochar, which is an engineered charcoal that improves soil structure, moisture retention and nutrient availability.

  • Both hard and soft plastics are being turned into a concrete aggregate. The recycled plastics gets mixed with the biochar and lime to create a porous material that mimics gravel!  This plastic based concrete aggregate is being used for local building projects and to create besser blocks for local construction!

  • Things that still need to be sent to landfill are compacted and baled up for export.

 With magnificent scenery, a fascinating and remarkable history, a tranquil, relaxing atmosphere, cows that have right of way on the roads and a community of dedicated people coming up with better choice solutions and options for the environment (that communities everywhere should be taking notice off!) Norfolk Island truly is a fabulous little place that has impressed and captivated me and I look forward to visiting again!