Auckland Mayor Phil Goff and Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage this morning announced the creation of a new community recycling centre in Onehunga.

Developed and operated by Auckland Council, the facility is supported by $2.24 million of funding from the Ministry for the Environment’s Waste Minimisation Fund, with an additional $416,400 contribution from the council.

Phil Goff said, “This is fantastic for our city and will strongly enhance our Resource Recovery Network, which aims to reduce waste and minimise carbon emissions from landfill. It will cut the equivalent of more than a quarter of a million wheelie bins of material going to landfill.”

“Delivery of this Community Recycling Centre is being fast tracked thanks to the funding boost from government. It will extend our existing network of eight community recycling centres to the more than 70,000 Aucklanders in the Maungakiekie-Tāmaki ward, helping to reduce waste, improve the local environment and create employment opportunities.

“The centre will provide a range of recycling services including the processing, purchase and sale of reusable goods and extra services such as community learning, as well as providing processing capacity for the Great North Road, Western Springs site, which has limited space.

“This will be Auckland’s ninth Community Recycling Centre and will complement the great work being carried out by current CRC operators across the region to develop our circular economy.

“It will also add another 15 jobs to the 50 jobs already created across Auckland, offer opportunities to volunteer and will contribute to community understanding of how we can live more sustainably,” Phil Goff said.

Chair of the Environment and Community Committee, Councillor Penny Hulse said, “This is about harnessing the power of the local community to capture wasted resources and circulate them within the local economy, generating social, environmental and economic benefits in the process.”

© Scoop Media