Traveling is an exceptional way to open your mind and see the world from a different perspective. Although Americans do many things well, we can always learn new concepts and ways of life when we take a explore other cultures. I am excited to share with you what I have deciphered to be common concepts that make up the culture of New Zealand and wellness.

During a trip to New Zealand, I noted some lifestyle practices that can better oneself, as well as the local community. While these concepts are present in American culture, we can learn from the kiwis how to take them to the next level.

New Zealand Wellness Pillars:

• Sustainability
• Wholesome food
• Kindness

Today we are taking a dive into the first pillar of New Zealand’s wellness culture.

Sustainability

One area that we visited stood out to us from its community efforts for health, sustainability, and waste reduction. Raglan, world renown for long left-hand surf breaks, is making a splash with its efforts to reduce, reuse, and recycle!

The Xtreme Zero Waste (XZW) is the community recycling solutions center. On average XZW, has diverted 75% of their rubbish away from landfills annually to be reused in the community or recycled!

In the beginning, XZW was a few activists collecting cardboard in their cars. Now it is a million dollar operation employing 28+ staff! Today the center has planted over 6000 trees and set up programs to reduce invasive animals in the area.

XZW also provids mentoring to over 46 different communities on recycling and waste management. EVERY MONTH XZW diverts 394,259 lbs of waste from the landfills!

New Zealand now uses four separate recycling and trash receptacles to sort its waste. These bins are respectfully called “Love NZ Bins”. With the introduction of the Love NZ Bins, waste to landfills was reduced by 15%!

If you go to a store market in NZ you should be ready to carry out whatever you buy. The majority of stores do not offer bags to their customers and locals always have reusable bags on hand!

Did you know that shoppers world wide use 500 BILLION single-use plastic bags every year??

Please don’t be that person.

Use reusable bags and mesh bags for you produce instead of the plastic produce bags. Put your fruit, veggies, or bulk items into the mesh bags. These bags tell you the weight of the bag so you don’t pay for contents inside it as well as the bag weight. Support local agriculture and skip the plastic clam shells when you buy your berries from local farmers market. Or you can grow berries yourself quite easily!

What are someways you can reduce your waste, reuse things more, or recycle in new ways? Comment below! We love to hear about your efforts!