BASF ANZ tackles the Clean4Change Waste Challenge

At BASF, our slogan of 'We create chemistry for a sustainable future' is at the core of everything we do and consciously incorporated in the way we operate. In conjunction with National Recycling week in November last year, BASF ANZ organised numerous activities and opportunities for colleagues to participate in this journey, including the keystone event Clean4Change Waste Challenge. 

 

This challenge encouraged BASF colleagues to collect plastic waste or recyclable materials within their local area and record the number of waste pieces collected on an app. The app also contained a 'scoreboard' where participants could see how their waste collecting efforts compared with other colleagues.


To support this challenge, BASF committed to matching the donation based on the accumulated waste collected at the end of the challenge and managed to donate AUD$3,000 to its beneficiary, Tangaroa Blue Foundation, an organisation dedicated to the removal and prevention of marine debris. 

From a fantastic participation rate from colleagues across Australia and New Zealand, Tim Geuze, Territory Manager at BASF New Zealand, was announced as the champion of the challenge, recording an impressive (yet alarming) result by managing to pick up 2,442 pieces of litter in his local community.

 

“I spent an hour each day for five days picking up litter, the majority of which was collected from the roadside, drains and beach carparks," said Tim. "I was staggered by what I found – tyres, couches, cans, bottles, McDonalds & KFC bags and even drug paraphernalia. I also noticed that polystyrene was clearly an issue, especially when it was found shattered into a zillion pieces. The list of items recovered was unbelievable; however, my local district council was very supportive and allowed me to drop off the rubbish free of charge at the local tip. I would like to personally challenge BASF ANZ to run this as a yearly event and help become part of the solution to help encourage a behaviour change and a cleaner environment.”

 

Despite the fact that sustainability can often be viewed as a topic that is ‘too big to tackle’, this challenge proved that everyone can play a role and contribute to addressing climate change and creating a more sustainable planet.