19 May 2004

City to pilot resource recovery project

A resource recovery park could become the way forward in managing Auckland City’s inorganic waste.

Auckland City is considering a pilot resource recovery park as an alternative to the bi-annual kerb-side inorganic waste collection.

Councillor Bill Christian, chairperson of the council’s Works Committee, says the current kerbside is being reviewed for several reasons.

“The collection of inorganic goods doesn’t necessarily mean they are then re-used, which is what the recovery park will aim for.

“There has also been concern about the visual impact of the inorganic collection and health and safety issues need to be considered.”

A report to the Works Committee says studies have shown that a resource recovery park with satellite centres would encourage people to separate inorganic material from general waste. Community businesses could then be created to use the new resource.

The proposed pilot programme, developed with consultancy Envision NZ Limited, will introduce a scaled down version of a resource recovery park into a particular area. The area for the pilot has not yet been decided but it has been proposed that the trial runs in 2005 and 2006.

The pilot will provide information in several important areas:

gauging the quantity and quality of waste that would otherwise have been collected by the kerbside collection service exploring the options of an interim pick-up service for bulky goods providing information on the establishment and ongoing costs to the council of a resource recovery park gathering community feedback.

The report says: “Community feedback on the pilot is essential to achieve a workable model that could be rolled out across the city. We need to know if they like using the facility, if they are prepared to drop the materials off themselves or want a pick-up service, how far they are prepared to travel, and if they will buy goods from the park. We also need to find out if the facility or an alternative community based solution could actually provide an adequate alternative to the current kerbside collection.”

Mr Christian says the most successful and balanced approach to these issues is having the public, private and community sectors working in partnership to produce a workable solution.

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