NPDC’s new commercial waste sorting facility ‘The Sorting Depot’ on Colson Road will make it easier and cheaper for Taranaki businesses to do the right thing by the environment.

New Plymouth District Mayor Neil Holdom and NPDC Manager Resource Recovery Kimberley Hope at the opening of The Sorting Depot in Colson Road.

An estimated 45,000 tonnes of Taranaki’s yearly landfill waste comes from businesses, and this new facility, which was officially opened on 20 September, allows any local business to drop off their commercial waste to be sorted for reuse and recycling – for less than the cost of taking it to landfill.

Costing $1.2 million to build, of which $420,000 was funded by the Ministry of the Environment, NPDC is aiming to divert 5,000 tonnes of materials in the Sorting Depot’s first year.

“Up to 60 per cent of the region’s landfill waste comes from the commercial and industrial sectors – if we can make it available for reuse or recycling, it’ll be a huge step forward in cutting the amount we send to landfill and make it easier and cheaper for businesses to help build a greener, cleaner future,” says NPDC Manager Resource Recovery Kimberley Hope.

“It provides a local collection and sorting point and gives us the ability to develop markets for hard-to-recycle items, such as tyres and treated timber. With everything we accept, our first option is to reuse or recycle it locally, with some materials also going to national recycling markets, and only metals sent overseas.”

Businesses need register to use the facility, which is free, and then pay according to the size and type of each load they drop off. Lower rates for pre-sorted materials are also offered.

More details are online at npdc.govt.nz/SortingDepot.

Fast facts

• NPDC’s Zero Waste goal is to end waste from our District going to landfill by 2040.
• This will be only the third commercial waste sorting facility in New Zealand, after depots in Marlborough and Auckland.
• The Marlborough facility has diverted 30 per cent of waste from the landfill.
• 45,000 tonnes of Taranaki’s yearly landfill waste comes from businesses.

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