MEDIA ADVISORY
17 April 2012

Check out the Enviroway – a fresh look at recycling

Head over to Civic Square between 11am – 2pm this Thursday (19 April) for a close-up look at the Council’s new recycling trucks.

Our recycling collections contractor EnviroWay has recently designed trucks to service the new way Wellingtonians recycle their mixed recyclables and glass – making it safer and more efficient. On top of that, the new glass recycling process means we actually make money from the city’s used glass.

We used to have to pay a contractor to accept our recycling – now we’re forecasting revenue of $1 million a year, which will fund about a quarter of the collection costs.

Although the new recycling system costs an extra $800,000 to run ($4.2 million compared to $3.4), the increase is offset by greater revenue from the landfill and from the sale of yellow rubbish bags – so there is no impact on rates.

Operations Manager Zac Jordan says introducing the new technologies means we can now provide colour-sorted glass ‘cullet’ to the market and support reprocessing of glass in New Zealand – rather than sending lower-value, colour-mixed glass for use in road works.

“The upshot is that our recycled glass is no longer a cost burden but a valued resource that creates a revenue stream in this country and jobs for New Zealanders.

“Alternating collection weeks also means our plastics, metals and papers are worth more, as they are not contaminated with abrasive glass fragments.”

This Thursday marks the first anniversary of the new service. Experienced recycling staff members will be on hand to answer any questions and demonstrate how the new trucks work.

There’ll be balloons and lollies for the kids and an interactive session where they can separate the ‘good’ recycling from the ‘bad’ (clean plastics, paper, cardboard, etc – nothing dangerous).

Zac says Wellington City Council is one of the first to use this type of new glass collection.

“We’re acting as a test bed for other Councils who are looking to reduce their carbon footprint. The system largely relies upon Wellingtonians’ commitment to the city’s recycling service – so we’re really grateful for that.”

ENDS

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