Wellington Stored Recycling for Landfill

Wellingtonian recycles have been in storage for weeks because Covid-19 restrictions could end up going straight to the landfill anyway.

Wellington Councilwoman Laurie Foon said it was “devastating” but also a practical reality.

People’s garages, backyards, and kitchens have been filling up with wine bottles, beer cans, cardboard, and plastic for more than six weeks.

Collection services will resume in Wellington tomorrow after being suspended since the country closed, but the regional recycling sorting facility will only open when New Zealand moves to Level 2 on Thursday.

It means that while people’s increasingly unmanageable recycling piles can be removed tomorrow, they will go straight to the landfill.

But even when the sorting facility opens, there is no guarantee that recycling will actually be recycled.

This is because the plant at Seaview could be flooded with all the material accumulated during alert levels 3 and 4.

In that case, trucks will be directed to the landfill until levels drop and are more manageable.

Still, recycling is not a sure thing.

There is concern that some of the recycling will become contaminated because people have not properly washed it.

If too much contaminated recycling ends up in a truck, all of the cargo will also go to the landfill.

However, Wellingtons are on much firmer ground with glass recycling.

Regardless of whether the country is at Alert Level 3 or 2, the council has worked with contractors to allow the glass to be collected from tomorrow and shipped to Auckland for processing without any physical contact with staff.

Normally in a month up to 700 tons of glass are collected.

But the glass will only be collected if it is in the official drawers of the council; anything else will be left on the sidewalk.

All recycling must be done in official boxes, wheeled containers or bags, the only exception to this is that carefully packaged cardboard will be collected.

Additional trucks will be deployed and contractors will work longer hours to overcome what is expected to be a recycling mountain.

Emily Taylor-Hall, waste operations manager for Wellington City Council, said the goal was to recycle as much as possible.

“But we have to be aware of the pollution that is being collected and make some calls about what does and does not get to the sorting plant.

“If the food hasn’t been completely removed and has stayed that way for a long time, you can imagine that it probably won’t be very pleasant.”

The Christchurch City Council reported problems with contaminated recycling when the EcoSort recycling facility resumed operations last Monday.

If there is more than 10 percent contaminated material in the recycle stream, it cannot be processed through the facility, as the quality of the product would be too poor to attract buyers.

Council Resource Recovery Manager Ross Trotter said about a quarter of the material collected from the yellow wheeled bins last Monday did not belong in the recycling stream.

“The contamination levels were so high that only four trucks loaded with material could be sent for recycling. The other 18 trucks loaded with material that were collected had to be sent to the landfill.”

Taylor-Hall said the best way for Wellingtons to ensure that their recycling reserves are actually recycled is to stagger what they take out and make sure it is clean.

“That will give us an opportunity to fight more, to process as much as we can.”

The senior councilor for Wellington City Council’s waste minimization portfolio, Laurie Foon, echoed those comments and urged people not to overwhelm the system.

“If you have been able to accumulate a little, you could be accumulating a little more and not put an overwhelming amount in your recycling, therefore not flooding the top of your bins and not putting pieces on the side.”

The Covid-19 crash has made many people more aware of how much recycling they have, he said.

“Stocks don’t lie! We need to find better ways to reduce waste and recycling – minimizing food scraps, packaging and containers is an easy way to start.

“Since Alert Level 3, more of Wellington’s bulk stores have been operating. The public can order online and pick up at stores in their sterilized, reusable glass jars.

“Now is also the perfect time to set up your own composting system if you have room – a bokashi, a worm farm, or a compost bin is a great way to use waste. You can even put ripped paper and cardboard, including crates. pizza, in your compost bin or use it for new garden beds or mulch around the trees. “