$776,000 for new Marlborough recycling facility

The Government is to provide $776,000 from the Waste Minimisation Fund for a new Marlborough waste sorting facility, Environment Minister Dr Nick Smith announced today during a visit to the Marlborough District Council’s Resource Recovery Centre in Blenheim with Kaikōura MP Stuart Smith.

“This grant is about supporting innovation in waste management to enable the diversion of 8000 tonnes of material going to landfill per year and ensuring that both this iconic region and New Zealand better lives up to our clean, green brand,” Dr Smith says.

The $776,000 grant comprises the Government’s contribution towards a new $2.9 million sorting facility for commercial and industrial waste, which will be built at Wither Road in Blenheim and is due to commence operations in October 2016. The sorting facility is projected to take approximately 13,000 tonnes of waste per annum and successfully divert 60 per cent of this for recycling. The recycled materials to be recovered include: cardboard, plastics, metal, glass, plasterboard, brick, rubble, wood, textiles and soil.

“Marlborough is important to New Zealand’s clean, green brand, being the main home of our wine and mussel exports, and a popular tourism destination with the stunning Marlborough Sounds. However, the region’s current management of waste needs to be stepped up. I commend the Marlborough Council on this initiative, which will place it at the forefront of better waste management in New Zealand,” Dr Smith says.

“This grant is part of National’s Bluegreen approach to environmental issues, where we support practical projects that will make a positive difference to our environment. The waste debate is often dominated by discussions over issues like plastic bags that make up only 0.1 per cent of the waste stream, rather than the big volume waste for which we have economically viable recycling options. This project in Blenheim will hugely increase the proportion of waste in Marlborough that will go to landfill.

“This funding has only been made possible thanks to the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund, which provides financial support to projects that reduce environmental harm and provide social, economic and cultural benefits. It is funded from a levy that is charged on waste disposed of at landfills and over $50 million has been awarded to more than 100 projects from the Fund to date.

“It is good to be partnering with the Marlborough community on this latest project, which will be provide a practical and innovative step change in the region’s management of waste.”

Further information on the Waste Minimisation Fund is available at: www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/waste/waste-minimisation-fund/index.html.