Out and about in Wānaka

Are you someone who is always on the go? Juggling between work, school and other commitments can be tiring and we all need to refuel from time to time.

While there’s nothing like a good cup of coffee after the school run, it’s important that we try to avoid single-use waste when we can.

Make throwaways a thing of the past and fill up your car with these handy items…

Flasks

A reusable coffee cup and flask at a campsite.

If you enjoy camping, then you’ll know the importance of a good flask. To save the planet and your purse, we think a flask is a great investment. Make a fresh brew of tea or a homemade soup and take it out on your adventures. The best part is that they can stay warm for hours. Flasks can be found across Wānaka’s outdoor stores, souvenir shops and supermarkets including:

  • Racers Edge
  • Mitre 10 MEGA Wānaka
  • MT Outdoors
  • Outside Sports
  • Macpac Wānaka

Alternatively, add a splash of glam to the bring your own concept with this tea infuser-flask from Wānaka based store, Boh and Ivy. 

Drink bottles

A selection of reusable water bottles - a great item for when you're out & about in Wānaka.

Reusable water bottles are more than a sustainable solution – they are a fashion trend in their own right.

Check out Refill NZ for all the places you can fill up.

Choose from a range of funky colours and patterns from the following Wānaka stores: 

  • Revology Concept Store
  • Health 2000
  • Simply New Zealand
  • Wonder Room
  • Fearless Wānaka
  • Racers Edge
  • Wastebusters

If that’s not enough, Wānaka Recreation Centre also has their own bottle library. So, if you forget your water bottle and find yourself in the Three Parks area, just pop in and help yourself!

Lunch boxes

A selection of food including grapes, crackers, nuts, and cheese being put in a lunch box.

Whether it’s for you, your partner or the kids, lunch boxes are an invaluable alternative to cling film, tin foil and other single-use containers and wraps. Find stainless steel lunch boxes across Wānaka including Revology Concept Store. For long adventures, grab a Yeti Daytrip Lunch Box at Outside Sports. Purchase a glass takeaway salad bowl with a fitted plastic lid for your lunch from Fedeli (then get great prices for refills). Alternatively, pop into Wastebusters for a wide selection of secondhand options – who knows what you will find!

Straws

Smoothie and reusable straws

Thanks to the recent phase-out of single-use plastic items, plastic straws are now a thing of the past (hooray). But why stop there? We can put an end to all single-use straws by swapping the soggy paper straw for a reusable one too. Reusable metal straws are available at CaliWoods (online), Fedeli, Wonder Room and Health 2000. So, next time you’re out and about in Wānaka, pop one of these in your bag.

Bags

A Plastic Free Wānaka tote bag hanging up Rhyme and Reason. Tote bags are an essential item if you are out and about in Wānaka.

From book bags to grocery bags, there’s nothing like a good tote. If you want to give back to the local community, the proceeds from our Plastic Free Wānaka reusable cotton shopping bags go directly back into our work. 

Find them at:

  • The Coffee Shack
  • Revology Concept Store
  • Fedeli
  • Rhyme x Reason Brewery
  • New World Wānaka
  • New World Three Parks
  • Mitre 10 Mega

Alternatively, find a selection of unique shopping bags with colourful prints at Wonder Room, or visit Revology Concept Store for a range of organic cotton and mesh produce bags. 

Sandwich bags/ tin foil alternatives

Someone putting a sandwich into a reusable bag - a great choice for when you're out and about in Wānaka.

If you need to wrap your food up, reusable snack or sandwich bags are a great alternative. Find Sundown snack bags at The Green Room Flower Co or locally made options at the Wānaka Artisan Market

When you’re not out and about, these reusable baking tray mats from local online store CaliWoods will significantly reduce the amount of tin foil in your household. 

Food wraps

A selection of beeswax wraps

A popular and reliable alternative to cling film (aka glad wrap) is beeswax wraps. Find them at the Wānaka Artisan Market, Fedeli, and Health 2000. Alternatively, the Wonder Room stocks cotton food wraps and silicone sheets to cover salad bowls and containers – a perfect choice for picnics.

If you’re feeling creative, look out for regular beeswax-making workshops at Wastebusters.

Coffee cups

Pink and lilac reusable coffee cups from SUCfree Wānaka.

If you’re looking for a reusable coffee cup, then you have come to the right place! Why? Because Wānaka is well known for its efforts in reducing single-use cups.

Led by Plastic Free Wānaka, SUCfree Wānaka is a community-based campaign with the ultimate goal of becoming Aotearoa’s first single-use cup free town.

To support the work of our social enterprise, we have launched our very own SUCfree Wānaka Bullet Cups. Available in a variety of beautiful colours (12oz or 8oz), 100% of the profits go back into the initiative. Find our cups at the following stores:

  • Fedeli – 47 Helwick Street
  • Big Fig – 105 Ardmore Street
  • Revology Concept Store – 28 Helwick Street 
  • Wānaka Isite – 103 Ardmore Street
  • New World Three Parks – 83 Sir Tim Wallis Drive
  • The Stoaker Room – 3 Mountain View Drive
  • Mt Outdoors – 17 Dunmore Street
  • Mitre 10 Mega Wānaka – 100 Sir Tim Wallis Drive

Of course, it’s not just about us!

You’ll find other beautiful coffee cups for sale across Wānaka’s cafes, shops and markets, along with the fabulous Chunky loan cup scheme!

A tip from us...

As you can see, there are a lot of amazing products out there and sometimes making the swap can feel overwhelming. When you’re looking for solutions and alternatives, it’s best to take it one step at a time. Choose one item that you’re going to swap out and focus on implementing that into your daily routine. Once you’ve done that, you’ll find that it becomes easier to adopt more low waste solutions.

Remember, behaviour change isn’t something that happens overnight. So, relax, do what you can, and, most importantly, have FUN!,