26th March, 2007

Auckland councils should think carefully before they spend $ millions changing kerbside recycling collections

The Glass Packaging Forum which represents manufacturers, fillers and retailers of glass containers is warning Auckland and Manukau councils that collecting and processing glass along with cans, plastics and paper recycling is likely to result in more glass being collected but less glass meeting the specification for glass making and at a huge cost for the community.

The councils intend to switch their recycling collection systems from crate based collections where different materials are manually sorted at the kerbside to co-mingled wheelie bin collection systems, where materials are collected mixed at the kerbside and sorted at a centralized Materials Recovery Facility (MRF).

Research released today conducted by Auckland based economics consultancy Covec in conjunction with global environmental consulting service ERM concludes that:

“Councils should proceed with considerable caution before introducing a co-mingled collection system…despite international shifts towards greater use of co-mingling, the experience to date does not demonstrate that it is the optimal choice.”

The report highlights that the co-mingled collection introduced by North Shore and Waitakere councils in 2005 has led to a breakage rate upwards of 25-30% and that a similar rate for Auckland and Manukau could result in an additional 10,000 tonnes per year that cannot be re-used in the manufacture of glass containers.

David Carter, Chair of the Glass Packaging Forum says that the study was commissioned to raise awareness amongst councils that co-mingled collection and processing reduces the amount of high quality recycled glass available for reprocessing into glass:

“When Waitakere and North Shore introduced mixed wheelie bin collections, it was without input from industry and the result is around 8000 tonnes of glass mixed with other materials being stockpiled down the road from New Zealand’s only glass manufacturer O-I in Penrose. We are very concerned that the changes proposed by Auckland and Manukau will result in large quantities of glass which are too contaminated for O-I to use. This isn’t just a waste issue but has major issues for Auckland’s ability to manage its energy use and Greenhouse Gas emissions because using recycled glass requires significantly less energy than using raw materials.”

Mr Carter said that despite meetings with officials at both councils and recycling operators, industry is not convinced that the proposed new state of the art sortation system or MRF will deliver what ratepayers expect.

“Nowhere in the world does a recovery facility exist that is capable of delivering the vast proportion of glass to the quality required for glass making. We know that the councils would like to bring the best technology in the world to Auckland but the required technology is not proven and, even if it were, the likely cost will be prohibitive. It will require a huge leap of faith by Auckland’s rate payers to spend much more than $20 million on an untested system.”

“And if ultimately they decide that they can’t afford this level of technology, any compromise will mean we just keep adding to the stockpiles of glass and risk also contaminating paper recycling at which we are currently world leading. At the end of the day householders who go to the trouble of recycling, expect that materials will be used especially when there is both a glass manufacturer and a paper recycling mill on the doorstep.”

The report will be available on: www.packagingaccord.org.nz/GlassPackagingForum.php

ENDS

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