Marlborough District Council has been awarded $320,000 in funding from the 2018 Waste Minimisation Fund to progress two new projects to tackle the region’s waste.

The money will be spent helping to find new solutions for hazardous waste like batteries and paint, and grape marc - the grape skins, stalks and seeds left over after harvest and wine making.

Council’s Solid Waste Manager Alec McNeil says the $198,411 grant for hazardous waste will be invested in the development of a new storage facility to enable 75 tonnes of hazardous waste to be processed each year.

“Blenheim’s current central storage facility was designed to take 15 tonnes of material each year, but is now processing in excess of 40 tonnes annually.

“This grant supplements Council’s investment in the project ($548,295) which also sees the upgrade of hazardous waste storage facilities at our five transfer stations across the region,” Alec says.

The second grant of $127,711 will assist a Council-commissioned research project run by Massey University on grape marc.

Marlborough produces up to 65,000 tonnes of grape marc each year, which can contain up to 60 percent liquid and requires careful management to minimise its impacts on the environment.

“This research project will consider options for turning this material into a stable, reusable and marketable product, whilst minimising its environmental impact,” Alec said.

The total cost of the grape marc project is $170,282.

The Waste Minimisation Fund is managed by the Ministry for the Environment through funds raised from the landfill levy. For more information about the Fund visit www.mfe.govt.nz/more/funding/waste-minimisation-fund

ENDS

© Scoop Media