As part of the council’s Climate and Biodiversity Plan, Project Awesome aims to make the council’s three aquatic centres (Queenstown Events Centre, Wanaka Recreation Centre, and Arrowtown Memorial Pool) more sustainable. Through stopping the sale of plastic water bottles and switching snack items in plastic packaging to home compostable alternatives in the aquatic centres, the council has reduced waste and emissions. Staff, suppliers, and the wider community are now more aware about the importance of sustainability. 

Phase two of Project Awesome will keep working on cutting waste and single-use plastics. This means partnering with suppliers to find and use more sustainable packaging for retail products. The goal is to switch all retail items to eco-friendly options and completely remove plastic from the stores.