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Ongoing Staffing Challenges Temporarily Close Materials Recovery Facility At Frankton
Queenstown Lakes District Council (QLDC) has made the difficult decision to close the Materials Recovery Facility at Frankton for the remainder of the week.
The two-day closure follows ongoing challenges recruiting staff to run the facility, where material collected via the residential kerbside service is hand sorted for recycling.
QLDC Infrastructure Operations Manager Simon Mason said a staffing solution was being urgently worked through with the contractor, Waste Management New Zealand, but unfortunately mixed recycling collected in the yellow bins in Queenstown this week would need to be diverted to landfill. Clean glass will continue to be recycled as normal.
“This is disappointing and not a decision we make lightly. We’re working hard to maintain normal levels of service for the community but the reality is we’re facing the same challenges as many other local businesses. There are very few people out there available to fill the roles, and existing staff are facing burnout and need to rest to maintain their health and wellbeing. Operational health and safety is also a priority and there are currently not enough staff to process the materials safely.”
“At this stage, kerbside collections will continue as normal and we encourage everyone to continue to keep up their good habits. Put your bins out as you normally would and continue to place clean mixed recycling in the yellow bin, glass in the blue bin and rubbish in the red bin,” he said.
Normal processing of mixed recycling is planned to restart on Monday 14 November. However, the resourcing situation is not expected to be resolved completely overnight.
QLDC is supporting Waste Management New Zealand in its recruitment efforts and exploring all options to reduce the risk of future disruptions.
Roles currently available with Waste Management New Zealand include: Drivers (Class 5 and Class 2), Recycling Operators and Transfer Station Operators.
Anyone interested in applying can visit https://wastemanagement.careercentre.net.nz/Job/Search for more details.
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