CIRCULAR ECONOMY & BUSINESS SUSTAINABILITY
HOW MAKITA
IS POWERING THE
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
IN NEW ZEALAND
The circular economy isn’t just a green buzzword. It’s a blueprint and a framework for how businesses can thrive while reducing their environmental impact. But turning that vision into something practical? That’s where many companies struggle. Makita New Zealand is proving it can be done and done well.
Brad Munt, Product Manager at Makita New Zealand, shares how the REGENERATION battery recycling program, developed with Phoenix Recycling, is helping close the loop on lithium-ion battery waste.
WHAT IS THE
CIRCULAR ECONOMY
AND WHY CAN’T
YOU IGNORE IT?
The phrase “circular economy” gets thrown around a lot, but at its core, it’s a simple concept: keep materials in use for as long as possible, extract maximum value while they’re in circulation, and then recover and regenerate them at the end of their life. It’s the opposite of the traditional “take-make-waste” model, and it’s gaining serious traction across Aotearoa. And for good reason!
New Zealand’s landfills are under pressure. E-waste, particularly lithium-ion batteries, poses serious risks to people and the planet. And Kiwis are increasingly favouring brands that take sustainability seriously, not just as a marketing tool but as part of how they operate.
Makita’s Commitment to Leading the Way on Our Circular Economy
Makita New Zealand saw these signals early and made a deliberate move to lead, not for compliance or optics, but as a values-based commitment to doing better.
“It’s really part of our duty and part of our vision as a company into a circular economy,” says Brad Munt. “So we put a strong emphasis on recycling, sustainability, and renewable goods throughout every part of the business.”
That commitment began with one of the most urgent environmental challenges: lithium-ion battery waste. Lithium poses a significant threat to the environment if not handled correctly. “As a supplier of cordless tools, we felt it was our duty. It was about corporate social responsibility, but more than that, it was the right thing to do.”
What followed was REGENERATION, a nationwide battery recycling program, and a partnership with Phoenix Recycling to make it real. This wasn’t just about diverting waste. It was about building practical systems, educating teams, and embedding circular thinking into the DNA of a global brand operating in Aotearoa.
REGENERATION -
Closing the Loop
on Lithium Battery
Waste
With cordless tools now the norm, Makita saw the volume of spent batteries growing rapidly and, with it, the environmental risk. “We were aware of the sheer volume of batteries that were potentially being thrown into landfill,” says Brad Munt. “We set our sights on launching a battery recycling program, and we were committed to getting it right.”
The decision to act wasn’t made in isolation. It came from both the top down and the ground up, corporate direction and on-the-ground feedback working in tandem. There was a bit of a push from Makita Japan to start this initiative,” Brad explains. “So we got on the front foot with that and decided to start. Globally, I believe we’re the first country that has launched an initiative like this.”
But the push wasn’t just from within; customers were speaking up, too. “We had customers asking us, pretty frequently, ‘What do I do with these batteries?’” Brad recalls. “We were getting those questions on our info inbox, through our reps; people genuinely wanted a solution.”
The result was REGENERATION, a nationwide battery recycling initiative launched in early 2024 to provide a simple, scalable, and safe way for customers, retailers, and service centres to dispose of batteries responsibly.
ROLLING OUT THE
REGENERATION
PROGRAMME
To make it happen, Makita partnered with Phoenix Recycling. “Phoenix offered the safest and most efficient service we could find,” Brad says. “Their bins had built-in fire containment, 24/7 cellular heat monitoring, and certified transport. That level of safety was the number one selling point for us.”
Now, Makita has collection points at key locations across the country. Batteries are safely stored, monitored for temperature spikes, and collected by our certified drivers. The impact? As of March 2025, the program has diverted 1,205 kilograms of lithium-ion batteries from landfills.
That’s more than a tonne of batteries, and 98% of their materials are now being reused instead of wasted.
“It’s just become part of how we do business now,” says Brad. “Our team is on board, our customers are on board, and we’re really proud of what we’ve built.” But REGENERATION didn’t just close the loop on batteries. It opened the door to something bigger: a culture of sustainability that’s spreading across every part of the business.
Embedding Circular
Thinking in
Every Product
While the REGENERATION program tackled battery waste head-on, it didn’t take long for its impact to ripple across the rest of Makita’s business. “It’s made other departments stop and think about what we can do better,” says Brad Munt. “The whole business is becoming more sustainability-minded because of it.”
One of the first areas to evolve was packaging. Makita recognised that its high-volume accessory range, like drill bits and saw blades, was a major contributor to plastic waste. In response, the team began transitioning these products away from traditional blister packs and toward fully recyclable cardboard alternatives.
That shift extended to toolboxes and larger items as well. Where products once came in high-gloss, film-coated packaging, Makita now uses simpler, uncoated cardboard boxes, reducing ink use, eliminating unnecessary lamination, and making the materials easier to recycle. But Makita’s focus didn’t stop at packaging. It was just the beginning.
BUILDING
TOOLS
THAT LAST
Circular thinking isn’t just about what happens at the end of a product’s life but also how it’s built from the start. For Makita, designing tools that are repairable rather than disposable has long been part of the company’s DNA. But with the launch of REGENERATION and a renewed sustainability focus, that principle is now more important than ever. “Repairability is part of our DNA,” says Brad Munt. “We don’t build tools to be thrown out. If a circuit board or motor fails, we want people to be able to replace just that component, not the entire tool.
”Together, these changes reflect a bigger shift in mindset, seeing every part of the business, from packaging to product design, as a chance to reduce waste, keep resources in use longer, and help customers make sustainable choices without sacrificing performance.
How REGENERATION Accelerated
Makita’s Circular
Vision
Makita’s commitment to sustainability didn’t begin with REGENERATION. The company was already making huge strides, but the launch of REGENERATION added something powerful: a tangible, customer-facing program that brought circular economy thinking to life in a new and measurable way.
Makita’s experience holds key lessons for other New Zealand businesses, particularly those unsure how to begin their circular economy journey:
Start small, but smart: Makita began with one clear focus, batteries, and used it as a springboard for wider change.
Listen to your customers: The call for action often comes from the people using your products every day.
Partner with specialists: Phoenix Recycling brought expertise, infrastructure, and safety systems that Makita didn’t need to build in-house.
Make it visible and scalable: From co-branded bins to retail rollout, REGENERATION was designed to be easy to adopt and easy to explain.
“The goal was to build something we could scale, something that worked from day one but could grow with us,” Brad explains. “And that’s what REGENERATION has become.”
The biggest takeaway? Circular economy thinking doesn’t have to live in a strategy deck or a sustainability report. It can and should be embedded in the day-to-day decisions that shape your products, packaging, partnerships, and company culture.
Building a
Circular Future
for New Zealand,
One Partnership
at a Time
Makita is proving that sustainability and circular practices can be practical, scalable, and built into the fabric of a successful business. Their experience offers a clear message to other Kiwi companies: you don’t need to reinvent everything to get started. As Brad puts it, “If you care about future generations and the future of the planet… launch something. Start somewhere. You don’t have to solve everything at once, but you do have to start.”
As more Kiwi businesses embrace circular solutions, the opportunity for cross-industry impact only grows. “Having other industry leaders investing in initiatives like this means there is a holistic contribution to sustainability,” Brad notes. “It creates an amalgamation of positive environmental impact.”
If more businesses across New Zealand embrace circular thinking the way Makita has, the shift to a low-waste, regenerative economy won’t just be possible, it will be inevitable.