Abilities Incorporated

What Abilities Incorporated does

Abilities Incorporated, operating as Abilities Group, is a New Zealand registered charity (CC29453) headquartered at 16 Kaimahi Road, Wairau Valley, Auckland, with a second operations site in Glenfield. Founded in 1959 as the Auckland Occupational Therapy Workshop and rebranded in the 1980s after pivoting from pottery and woodwork into waste management, the organisation provides comprehensive recycling and contract packaging services including electronic waste recycling, certified document and data destruction, battery recycling, polystyrene recycling, and product packaging and assembly. Its physical technology stack centres on state-of-the-art industrial shredders (paper and hard drives), baling machines for paper, cardboard and circuit boards, polystyrene grinding and compacting equipment, and battery recycling kits with prepaid courier return. Auditable and traceable processes are supported by Basel Permits issued by the Ministry for the Environment, EcoWarranty Environmental Management System certification, and certified Certificates of Destruction for hard drives, mobile phones and branded/IP items.

The organisation serves two primary customer segments: households, schools and not-for-profits via a public drop-off site open six days a week plus zoned residential pickup services across Auckland, and corporate customers via scheduled recurring and on-demand pickups. Named enterprise clients span at least five industries and include Fonterra, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (weekly e-waste partner since 2010), NZ Post, The Warehouse Group, SkyCity, Danske Mobler, MCC Albany, Signature Homes, and Clearlite & Athena Bathrooms. Unit-pricing applies across all services (e.g., $1.15/kg for document destruction, $5 per hard drive with Certificate of Destruction, $75-$105 zoned residential pickup, $3.75-$8/kg for various battery types).

Revenue is generated through transaction fees on recycling and packaging services, supplemented by donations (charitable contributions over NZ$5 are tax deductible), grants from funders such as Foundation North and the Hugo Charitable Trust, Gifts in Wills, Share the Power of Super contributions, and reuse sales via Trade Me. The company employs approximately 150 people in total, of whom over 100 are people with disabilities with tenures ranging up to 40 years. Quantified impact includes diversion of approximately 2.5 million kilograms of waste from landfills annually and 4.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions avoided per tonne of end-of-life products recycled. All operations are concentrated in the Auckland region, with no disclosed geographic expansion beyond it.

Name

Abilities Incorporated

Legal name

Abilities Incorporated

Website

https://abilities.co.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Abilities Incorporated is a New Zealand registered charity operating recycling and contract packaging services across Auckland, providing meaningful long-term employment for over 100 people with disabilities while diverting approximately 2.5 million kilograms of waste from landfills annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recycling and Waste Management Services

NAICS

Waste Treatment and Disposal (5622), Remediation and Other Waste Management Services (5629), Hazardous Waste Collection (562112), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Refuse Systems (4953), Sanitary Services (4950)

akta.pro primary industry

Consumer E-waste Collection & Take-Back Programs (EUAIAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Enterprise Hardware Recycling (Servers, Storage, Networking) (BPALAIAI), E-Waste & IT Asset Disposition (On-site Collection & Secure Handling) (BPABALAF), Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM), Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG)

Keywords

• E-waste recycling
• Document destruction services
• Contract packaging assembly
• Battery recycling services
• Polystyrene recycling

Headquarters

HQ city

Auckland

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Recycling Service Fees: Charges for drop-off and pickup recycling services for e-waste, batteries, polystyrene, paper, cardboard, and other materials. Fees vary by item type. Revenue supports staff wages, premises, maintenance, and operating expenses.
2. Corporate Recycling Contracts: Recurring scheduled pickup and service contracts with corporate clients including Fonterra, Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, NZ Post, The Warehouse Group, and SkyCity. Includes weekly pickup services and on-demand pickups.
3. Trade Me Reuse Sales: Reuse of donated items via Trade Me listings. Items that can be reused rather than recycled are listed for sale, generating funds to employ more staff with disabilities. Laptops sold have had hard drive data securely destroyed.
4. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Registered charity (CC29453) accepting financial donations. Donations over $5 NZD are tax deductible. Also receives Share the Power of Super contributions from NZ Super recipients. Gifts in Wills program.
5. Packaging and Assembly Contract Services: Contract manufacturing services including product packing, bagging, shrink wrapping, collating, labelling, and assembly for corporate clients like MCC Albany.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Abilities Incorporated is a registered charity that operates recycling and contract packaging services in the Auckland region, employing people with disabilities to deliver e-waste recycling, certified document and data destruction, battery recycling, polystyrene recycling, and packaging/assembly services. The organization diverts over 1.2 million kilograms of e-waste and approximately 2.5 million kilograms of total waste annually from landfills through scheduled corporate pickups, public drop-off, and residential collection.

Product overview

Abilities Incorporated is a recycling charity offering a comprehensive suite of waste management and recycling services rather than a single unified software product. The core service portfolio includes Electronic Waste Recycling (diverting over 1.2 million kg annually), Certified Document Destruction with secure shredding, Certified Data Destruction with Certificate of Destruction, Battery Recycling for all types, Polystyrene Recycling, and Packaging & Assembly contract services. These services are delivered through two channels: Services for the Public (households, schools, not-for-profits via drop-off and pickup) and Services for Corporate (businesses via scheduled pickups and on-demand services).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Electronic Waste Recycling Responsible disposal and recycling of electronic and electrical equipment. Accepts laptops, desktops, servers, TVs, printers, audio equipment, whiteware, cables, and accessories. Diverts over 1,248,000 kg of material annually from landfills.
• Certified Document Destruction Confidential paper document destruction using shredding technology that ensures documents cannot be reconstructed. Baled paper is sent to paper mills for recycling into new paper products. Secured bins with dedicated keys provided.
• Certified Data Destruction Secure shredding-based destruction of hard drives, mobile phones, ID cards, and other data-bearing devices with issuance of Certificates of Destruction. Used by corporate clients for IP and brand protection.
• Battery Recycling Recycling of all battery types including alkaline, lithium, rechargeable, button, lead acid, UPS, and car batteries. Lead and acid recovery handled through overseas partners; prepaid courier battery kit available.
• Polystyrene Recycling Grinding of polystyrene into small pieces and compacting into blocks that are sold to manufacturers for picture framing mouldings and wool substitute applications.
• Packaging & Assembly Contract manufacturing services including product packing, bagging, shrink wrapping, collating pages or products, labelling, and assembly of products from supplied parts for corporate clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2.5 million kg of waste diverted from landfills per year
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Fonterra New ZealandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLongstanding partnership for recycling milk powder bags (made of paper and soft plastic). Abilities Group operates a production line to separate and recycle components. Partnership of over 10 years. Expanded to include E-Waste recycling from Fonterra's Takanini production plant and Auckland CBD head office.
• Fisher & Paykel HealthcarecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeekly e-waste recycling partnership since 2010, covering medical equipment and printed circuit board (PCB) trimmings which are difficult to recycle. Also provides brand and IP destruction services.
• NZ PostcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConfidential document destruction partnership via Cushman & Wakefield. Weekly pickup service to Highbrook processing depot and other locations on demand. Partnership of over 5 years. Relationship has expanded to include e-waste and cardboard recycling from the Highbrook site.
• The Warehouse GroupcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership for recycling e-waste, polystyrene, and soft plastic. Focused on minimising waste going to landfill. Partnership continues to grow.
• SkyCity EntertainmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerE-waste recycling partnership. SkyCity CIO and team visited Abilities Group facilities to observe sorting and recycling processes.
• MCC AlbanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContract packaging and assembly partnership for over 5 years. Abilities Group assembles cardboard boxes and places labels in them for sale. Team has become experienced and efficient in this task, resulting in high quality work.
• Takapuna RotaryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnered for 65th anniversary celebration event with e-waste drop-off. Served as sausage sizzle sponsor.
• Devonport Rotary ClubminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity e-waste drop-off event partnership. Hosted event at The Clay Store, Devonport Community Workshop.
• North Shore RotaryminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity event partnership. Partnered at 65th anniversary event and e-waste pop-up collections.
• Endless MetalscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrusted metal recycling partner that handles the metal processed by Abilities Group, ensuring responsible handling. Committed to sustainable practices that benefit both environment and community.
• Pak'nSave AlbanyminorOthersDonates milk, fruit and yogurt to support the Abilities Group team. Supporting community with disabilities through food donations.
• Sanitarium NZ / Weet-BixminorOthersOngoing support providing healthy breakfast cereal for the Abilities Group team.
• Benefitz NZminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrint partner that handled the branding and final touches on the new truck sponsored by Hugo Charitable Trust.
• The Packaging ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember and drop-off site partner for the caps and lids recycling scheme. Attended the launch event at New World Birkenhead.
• Sustainable Business NetworkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the Sustainable Business Network, demonstrating commitment to sustainable business practices in New Zealand.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Regional players

• Endeavour Foundation: Large Australian disability employment social enterprise offering packaging, assembly, recycling, and document destruction services across multiple sites. Comparable as a regional peer operating the same social-enterprise-plus-recycling model at greater scale.
• Shred-X: Australian secure document and data destruction specialist serving enterprise customers. Comparable as a regional peer in the secure shredding segment that Abilities serves for NZ enterprise clients.

Direct peers

• Workbridge: New Zealand charitable organization supporting people with disabilities into employment, including through social enterprise contracts such as packaging and assembly. Comparable as a peer in the disability employment and contract services space.
• Computer Recycling: NZ-based e-waste recycling company providing drop-off services and corporate IT asset disposition with data destruction. Closely comparable service mix focused on electronics recycling in the Auckland/NZ market.
• Dropzone Recycling: NZ-based recycler offering drop-off and collection for e-waste and other materials to households and businesses. Comparable as a competing consumer and corporate e-waste collection channel in the Auckland/NZ market.
• Remarkit: New Zealand e-waste and IT asset disposition specialist offering corporate recycling, secure data destruction, and reuse sales. Directly comparable as a domestic e-waste recycler serving both consumer and enterprise segments.
• Enable Recycling: New Zealand disability-focused social enterprise providing recycling and contract packaging services that employ people with disabilities. Highly comparable as a direct mission-aligned peer operating similar service lines.
• TechCollect NZ: Product stewardship scheme for e-waste in New Zealand, providing free household drop-off points across the country. Comparable as a national e-waste collection channel competing for the same household volumes.

Emerging players

• The ReCreators: Auckland-based community social enterprise focused on upcycling and creative reuse of materials otherwise headed to landfill. Comparable as an emerging community-driven recycling peer with overlapping environmental mission.

Broad incumbents

• Sims Lifecycle Services: Global IT asset disposition and e-waste recycler operating at significant scale across multiple geographies. Comparable as an incumbent offering enterprise-grade secure data destruction and electronics recycling, but with a much broader portfolio and no social-employment mandate.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AbilitiesGroupNZ
• Instagraminstagram.com/abilitiesrecycling
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/abilities-group-inc-

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Abilities Incorporated