A modified 20ft shipping container will become the glass recycling receptacle for Waimarama over the summer holidays.
The container has been placed in the Waimarama Domain car park and has been modified to allow the collection of brown, green and clear glass bottles and jars.
Hastings District Council Waste Minimisation planner Angela Atkins says “Council is trialling this portable recycling container through until February. Waimarama is an extremely popular holiday destination at this time of the year and there is generally a large amount of glass which has been difficult to manage, with a lot ending up in the landfill as part of the general rubbish collection.”
Angela Atkins says “This initiative aims to gives residents and visitors a simple and convenient option to recycle their glass but it is important that the area around the container is kept tidy. The results of this summer’s trial will assist in determining the type of permanent service for the Waimarama Community.”
“Recycling glass has a number of major advantages. The environmental benefits include reducing the amount of raw material required to make glass bottles and jars. Recycling also helps divert waste from our landfill and reduces the amount of energy required to melt the raw materials during the manufacture of new products,” Angela Atkins says.
The Waimarama recycling container does not accept light bulbs, drink glasses or window and ornamental glass items. These items need to be carefully disposed of in the rubbish.
Major glass manufacturer and recycler O-I New Zealand based in Auckland recycled over 100,000 tonnes of glass in 2012 This equates to over 444 million stubbie beer bottles or over 222 million wine bottles.
