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Construction of new materials recovery plant well underway
Work is progressing to schedule on the development of the new Materials Recovery Plant at Parkhouse Road for
Christchurch’s new Kerbside Collection for domestic waste.
The new building will house a multi-million-dollar, state-of-the-art plant processing up to 30 tonnes of recyclables an
hour, separating cardboard, newspaper and mixed paper, glass, steel, aluminium and mixed plastics, says Meta New Zealand
CEO Ian Hay.
“The 4000 square metre facility will use the latest technology from Australia and America to automatically sort paper
and remove glass from the paper content, a magnet will remove steel from the co-mingled waste stream; aluminium will be
separated by eddy current technology and plastics by optical sorting.
“Computer controlled cameras will identify plastics by type and these will be separated using compressed air.”
Mr Hay says all elements of the line are computer controlled and are fully integrated.
The plant is on schedule for completion at the end of January 2009, ready for the roll-out of the new recycling service
in February.
The new materials recovery plant is important in helping Christchurch to achieve it goal of becoming the most
sustainable city in New Zealand, say City Council Waste Manager Mark Christison.
“Almost 45% of the material paced in the current black plastic rubbish bag is recyclable The new larger 240-litre
wheelie bin will enable residents to recycle more of their waste stream, thereby helping the city reduce by one-third
the amount of domestic waste going to landfill.”
Mr Hay says Meta’s investment in this new plant highlights its commitment and the key role it will play in diverting
waste from landfill.
“Meta is currently working to find local solutions for the materials which will be recovered under the new Kerbside
Collection.
“Success of the new service will be reliant on residents recognising what can be accepted for recycling and how it needs
to be prepared, such as all cans being thoroughly rinsed and free of food scraps, plastic bottles washed and caps put
back on and plastic shopping bags placed inside one bag and tied,” Mr Hay says.
Details of the roll-out of the new bins for the Kerbside Collection will be announced towards the end of next month.
ends