Kapiti glass recycling depot proposed
BY SHABNAM DASTGHEIB AND MARGARET IRVINE
YOUR RECYCLING: About half of all recycled glass ends up in landfills, like this pile at the Otaihanga Transfer Station, which could end up capping the landfill.
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Kapiti Observer
Glass recycling is a waste of time under the current system as about half of it ends up in the tip, says the former chief executive of Keep New Zealand Beautiful.
Barry Lucinsky, 76, is proposing a regional glass recycling depot to be built in Kapiti. He believes 100 per cent of all glass can be recycled, but says Greater Wellington regional council needs to help make that happen.
Mr Lucinsky owns Silica Glass Crushers, a mobile glass-crushing and screening company. For the past few years, the company has travelled the country, trying to stop glass ending up in landfills.
Mr Lucinsky said people may think they are recycling, but their good work is going to waste.
"About half of all glass that goes to recycling ends up in the tip because the colours are mixed. If people knew that they would be bloody well gob-smacked. We need to change things."
A new $80 million glass smelter is due to come online in Auckland in July, and Mr Lucinsky wants his proposed Kapiti depot to crush glass and send it there for recycling. Any glass collected needs to be sorted by colour to be suitable for the smelter set up by glass manufacturing company O-I New Zealand.
Mr Lucinsky hopes a Kapiti depot could be set up as soon as possible. "I am not asking for any council money. I already have the machinery, and the depot would be financially viable. I just want the council to sit down and co-ordinate and facilitate the project. My company can run it.
"Kapiti could be the regional forerunner. It makes sense to have it here because we are on the way to Auckland and easy to get to. The depot would create local jobs."
Mr Lucinsky said the project would have financial value, because of a growing demand for recycled glass in New Zealand.
"I want everyone to sit up and take notice. This is doable, it is sustainable, it is responsible and it will be good for the region."
Silica Glass Crushers has applied to the Waste Minimisation Fund for funding.
Mr Lucinsky presented his proposal to Greater Wellington's regional sustainability committee on Wednesday.
"The proposal received a very favourable hearing," said Kapiti's regional council representative Nigel Wilson.
"This is just the sort of thing regional councils are looking for. Council staff will have a look at all the numbers and prepare a report which I'm sure will be favourable.
"The tragedy is some councils are just burying glass, and other recyclables, in the landfill. If you're trying to get people to recycle, spending hours sorting it, that sort of thing is counter-productive.''
Mr Wilson said the regional council and territorial authorities had access to money from the Waste Minimisation Fund, should it be needed.
He said it made sense for a regional glass recycling depot to be situated in Kapiti, "for a number of reasons - not the least of which is Barry Lucinsky himself''.
"That man has a mountain of energy.''
- Kapiti Observer
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I find this appaling! When we housholders took our recycling to the depot on rimu Road, there were three glass colours - white/clear, brown and green. now we just toss our glass into the hopelessly unsorted green bin-box. That is going backwards. Years ago, I visited Germany to understand their recycling (they were the best European country by a longshot. householders did have many containers - see Eddie #2 comments. This then may require a change in logistical approach with vehicles coming say once a fortnight or three weeks to pick up a rostered waste component(s). This may cost something in extra houshold effort - but this would be practical and a better carbon footprint!
5# DJ it's not free you pay for it through your rates to find out ask you counicl as to how much if you dont mind the shock.
Yes Mike #6. Here in Greenwich borough of London, we chuck all our recyclable stuff in one clear plastic bag, which is then all sorted by a giant separator. Nothing is wasted.
Surely its an easy problem to solve by having a glass colour scanner at the depot and sorting the stuff automatically as it comes off a conveyor belt etc.
While we are at it how about setting up a central depot for tyre recycling, crunching the rubber into chips. Make it illegal to dump any tyres at the landfill.
Christchurch have an awesome system which is free and works - you 'do' have to sort but its real good, for both the environment and us!
Awesome, and about time! I'm in favour - it makes me very cross thinking all my recycling is ending up at the tip. Now for someone to start up a nappy composting service in Wellington too...
Wholeheartedly supported by me! Sounds like a great idea!
to sort by colour will mean 4 bins 1 paper/plastic/tin 3 glass 1white 1 green 1 brown that means the cost will go up by apox 100% be cause it will take at lest two trucks that or two days insted of one can we aford this??? as rates will be put up to get it.
Yes! Anything that makes Wellington's totally inadequate recycling even a small bit better is a good thing!
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Hi we are small privately owned recycling company working in Franklin, South Auckland. Franklin only has council recycling in well populateded areas, and leaves the rural areas out. So we started our own little business. We charge a fee of fifteen dollors per month, and for that we supply a sixty ltr bin with lid. We pick up weekly and take the bin, leaving a fresh clean bin in its place. Back at our yard we sort through the bins. We sort glass into its colours, plastics into its grade and seperate cardboard from paper. Paper and cardboard goes to the scouts. Bottle tops and aluminium caps goes to the lions foundation. But glass now thats another story. Taking glass into visy for recycling, we have to put it under another company in which we get $60 per tone. They sell it onto waste management, who sells it onto visy recycling for who knows. The thing is if we could gaurantee an over sea's buyer that we would be able to supply a certain amount of glass each month, we could make up to $300US. After reading about what you do, and how we opperate. Combining what we do and you do it could be set up all over the country, combining all the glass for a better return. It would be good to discuss recycling.