Blue wheelie bins turn one

Auckland City Council blue lidded recycling bin.

Big benefits to the environment: in the first year of operation, the Onehunga recycling plant recovered 96.7 per cent recyclable materials from blue lidded recycling bins.

From City Scene, published on 5 July, 2009.

Aucklanders have taken to the now year-old blue lid recycling bins with gusto, resulting in big benefits to the environment.

In the first year of operation, the joint Auckland-Manukau recycling plant in Onehunga recovered 96.7 per cent recyclable materials from the bins - with only 3.3 per cent being sent to landfill.

Visy Recycling NZ Ltd, operator of the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), says it is a credit to Aucklanders that the level of bin contamination is the lowest of its 46 recycling and MRF facilities in Australasia and North America.

The popularity of bins on the Auckland isthmus has contributed to an approximate 13.2 per cent reduction in material going to landfill - saving on landfill costs as well. This estimated saving of 11,300 tonnes is roughly equivalent to a nine-metre deep pile, the length and breadth of Eden Park's playing surface.

"That's an encouraging result for the first year of a new service," says Councillor Aaron Bhatnagar, chairperson of the City Development Committee. "But we can all do better as we work toward our goal of zero waste to landfill."

He recommends that residents can help improve recycling by:

not putting shredded paper into the recycling bin, as it is hard to separate
removing labels from cans and bottles if possible; and
not wrapping up your recycling in plastic bags, just put it in the bin.

"This recycling facility will be an asset to the new Auckland Council. Aucklanders are impressive recyclers, so let's keep up the great work," Mr Bhatnagar adds.

For more on recycling visit the Rubbish and recycling section online.

What goes in?

Since opening in July 2008, the MRF has received 65,000-plus tonnes of co-mingled (all in one bin) recyclables - roughly 60 per cent from Auckland city. Of the total, about 31,500 tonnes was paper and cardboard, and the remainder glass, aluminium, tins and plastics.

The plant uses advanced technology to sort the material through a series of automated screens, magnets, air currents and optical sort machines that divide the material into separate streams.

Recovered materials are on-sold to be turned into a range of new products in New Zealand, Australia and internationally, according to fluctuating market demand.

Based on operational experience of the first year, Visy has added further design refinements to the separation process so glass is more effectively separated during the main sort to cater for a wider range of markets and uses than first anticipated.

Graph indicating Auckland city recyclables received at the MRF in the first year's operation.

Waiting for recycling

About 15,000 tonnes - 96 per cent of it glass - is currently stockpiled and will be processed over the next few months. Reasons for this accumulation include developing multiple markets for recycled glass and supply arrangements to meet anticipated demand for recycled products.

Visy has recently secured an arrangement to provide 5,000 tonnes of crushed glass to a contractor, which will potentially be used in base course metal under footpaths. Auckland City Council has already trialled recycled concrete under footpaths, and will be evaluating base course with recycled glass during this year's footpath program.

Sorted: Advanced technology resulted in the sorting of 65,000-plus tonnes of co-mingled recyclables such as paper, cardboard, glass, aluminium, tins and plastics since last year.

Example of regional cooperation

Currently both Auckland city and Manukau city councils use Visy to process their recyclables. The decision by the two councils to pursue a joint recycling facility was an example of regional cooperation to improve recycling, reduce material to landfill, and save ratepayer funds.

Visy was selected from seven companies tendering to build, own and operate the plant - based on Visy's wide international experience and market knowledge in on-selling recyclables.

The plant is capable of expanding to handle more than 160,000 tonnes per year of recyclables, allowing it to receive and process even more recyclables from the region.

An on-site education centre is also popular with schools and community groups helping to deliver messages of waste reduction and minimisation.