Construction of recovery plant well underway
< 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