News

Helen Rupp, founder and CEO of The Rubbish Whisperer answers your questions about paper straws. Why use paper straws? There’s no excuse for plastic straws any more. Have you seen the turtle video? Our paper straws are durable, food safe, look great, are flexible and don’t pollute. Why wouldn’t you use paper straws? Are paper straws are better than plastic? Absolutely! Plastic straws pollute. They are in the top 10 items found worldwide in beach cleanups and they don’t break down in the ocean so they can be eaten by marine life. What are paper straws made of? Our paper straws are made...

I could never have imagined the massive impact The Rubbish Whisperer would have on Kiwis’ plastic consumption. To celebrate our five-year milestone, I thought it’s a good time to reflect on how I started my plastic-free journey and how far we have come in such a short time... By Helen Rupp, founder and CEO of The Rubbish Whisperer Since starting The Rubbish Whisperer five years ago, I am constantly blown away by our ability to start over. It doesn’t matter if you’re not a ‘greenie’ or have been using loads of plastic, every morning presents an opportunity to start fresh...

“Throwing away food is like stealing from the table of those who are poor and hungry.” (Pope Francis)   As a global community we grow enough food to feed the world and yet 3.1 million children under five die from poor nutrition every year. People are not the only ones losing out; precious resources used to grow, process, package, transport, market and sell food are also pointlessly wasted. It is hard to comprehend, but a shocking 25% of all the fresh water consumed annually across the world and 300 million barrels of oil are used to produce the 1.3 billion...