A prominent tourism professional and long-term Wānaka resident will take on the role of chair of the Wastebusters board.

Mat Woods has been appointed the new chair of Wastebusters, it was announced by Friends of Wānaka Wastebusters (FWW) - the incorporated society which holds the shares of Wānaka Wastebusters Ltd on behalf of the community and which appoints board members. 

“With the upcoming retirement of our fabulous chair Sally Battson, we knew we had big shoes to fill,” FWW chair Robyn Bardas said.

“As we celebrate 25-years of community enterprise and circular economy action, the Friends’ feel really fortunate to be welcoming Mat to our amazing governance team.”

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Mat, chief executive of Destination Queenstown and Lake Wānaka Tourism, said he was excited to take up the new role.

“Wastebusters has been leading the way to zero waste for the past 25 years, through a range of impactful activities including their famous reuse shop, their repair events, business consultancy and real recycling services,” he said.

“The work it has done to accelerate behaviour change across the community in waste reduction is extraordinary. This next chapter for Wastebusters is extremely exciting, as we build on the success of the first 25 years and start to envision what Wastebusters 2.0 could look like - a bigger, better hub built for the future of the region.”

FWW said retiring chair Sally Battson had been “the heart of the board since 2015”.

FWW also appointed new directors Simon Millar and Erica Brooks to the Wastebusters board, and farewelled outgoing director Mike Toepfer.

PHOTO: Lake Wānaka Tourism