Our Story
Earth Action Trust was set up as the outcome of “Growing Confident Communities Together” engagement in Puketapapa from 2011 to 2014, which was organised Migrant Action Trust. Thirty-six migrant groups including resettled communities participated to find local solutions to local issues. Of the 8 issues, unemployment was at the top. So, it was decided to develop a social enterprise in the waste industry for the purpose of community empowerment and job creation. This gave birth to Earth Action Trust.
2013
Following the “Growing Confident Communities Together” engagement, a working group was formed to prepare a new environmental organisation. The members met regularly on the weekend and travelled to visit community recycling centres including Xtreme Waste in Raglan, CBEC in Kaitaia and Trash Palace in Porirua.
2014
In July 2014, Earth Action Trust embarked on activities to build the capacity to be one of the operators of a community recycling centre in Auckland region. The ‘Don’t Trash It Donate It’ programme, which recovered and rehomed unwanted goods through garage sales, achieved considerable success in diverting waste from going to landfills. It also ran a number of successful ‘Sort Your Waste from Source’ presentations about waste minimisation education to groups within the Mt Roskill community. Besides, it participated in major conservation projects: the native tree nursery and the Puketapapa Education, Transition and Employment Readiness (P.E.T.E.R.) Project.
2016
Earth Action Trust participated in Three Kings Recovery and Salvage project to redistribute deconstructed materials to the migrant communities. Also, it organised two major events: Shippings of relief goods to Fiji to support the victims of the cyclone, and free community distribution of new clothes received from a major retail store closing down.
2017
Earth Action Trust led a community recycling trial project RePurpose Community Recycling centre in Onehunga in partnership with Grey Lynn 2030 Transition Community. The trial project completed in July 2018.
2018
Continuing our momentum of the trial project, Earth Action Trust embarked the ReUsable Goods Bank where we recover unwanted goods and rehome to the families in need in July 2018.
2019
Earth Action Trust brought its Holistic Fabric Upcycling programme to Paremoremo prison to include our brothers in the Corrections to participate in sustainability.
The Trust looks forward to working together with groups interested in improving the environment and the lives of the people within its community.
The Working Group
In May 2013 a working group was created to investigate the creation of a social enterprise in community recycling. The group met between June and October 2013. In this time they visited Xtreme Waste Raglan, Trash Palace Porirua, Waitakere Transfer Station and Community Business and Environment Centre Kaitaia. Earth Action Trust was launched in November 2013.
We acknowledge the voluntary work of the members of the working group and the members of the group are listed below.
Alvin Yung
Fukiko Otsuka
Liban Ahmed
Rebecca Mcilwraith
Arjeet Baweja
George Misa
Malabika Bhaduri
Tatsuo Nishimura
Haruko Tabuchi
Jane Mueke
Mohammad Ousman
Thin Myat
Hajime Otsuka
Lena Yang
Mussa Evans
