Environmental initiative to control reduce waste

Environmental initiative to control and reduce waste

An environmental initiative in the South Waikato to control and reduce waste is expected to divert more than 50,000 tonnes of waste from local landfills each year.

The Kinleith Recycling Centre to be officially opened today by South Waikato Mayor Gordon Blake is a partnership operation between Carter Holt Harvey and Materials Processing Limited (MPL).

Carter Holt Harvey Kinleith Chief Executive Brice Landman says Kinleith is constantly looking for ways to improve or reduce the impact its operation has on the environment, and waste reduction through recycling is one such initiative.

Mr Landman said the project shows the company’s very strong commitment to environmental initiatives that not only benefit the business but also the community it operates in.

“As a business and as individuals we all need to take responsibility for the waste that we produce and where it ultimately ends up. As one of the biggest manufacturing businesses in the South Waikato it is up to us to lead the way in this field,” he said.

A survey conducted in 2001 showed that only a small fraction of the waste generated from the Kinleith site and surrounding Industrial Park was being reduced, reused or recycled, and that the remainder was being landfilled.

Kinleith’s waste has gone to the Smythe Rd tip for the past 30 years but since MPL began its operation earlier this year more than two thirds of the waste has been diverted and recycled.

This is a huge reduction of the 30,000 plus tonnes of rubbish per annum that has gone to the Smythe Rd landfill over recent years. This includes 11,000 tonnes of cogeneration boiler ash, 22,000 tonnes of reject fibre from the recycling plant, and 1,000 tonnes of general office and workshop rubbish.

The medium term goal of the Recycling Centre is to divert the “waste” into better or other uses, with zero waste going to Smythe Rd landfill.

Already the centre has taken significant steps to achieving that goal, with all office/workshop waste going to the Recycling Centre, through the picking station instead of Smythe Rd since April 1, and from August 1 all reject fibre has been diverted to the boiler to burn for steam-raising instead of being taken to Smythe Rd.

The Kinleith Recycling Centre (KRC) plans to divert the 11,000 tonnes per annum of ash away from Symthe Rd from the beginning of next year.

The partnership with Materials Processing Limited, and the Kinleith Recycling Centre was set up to give a centralised and coordinated approach to resource reuse. Management of all waste streams and coordination of waste reduction activities is carried out by Materials Processing and the Recycling Centre, irrespective of the type or value of the material.

The aim is to gain control of all the waste generated from the Kinleith site and then expand the operation to include other CHH businesses, neighbouring industry and the district council.

A number of opportunities for reducing waste at source have also been identified.

The community has already benefited from the setup of the facility, with the South Waikato Achievement Centre playing a key role in the collection of office paper and with the employment of four full time and one part time person at the Recycling Centre. “There are still plenty of other opportunities to recycle and reduce waste. Kinleith has taken the first step, and with the backing and support of local authorities and businesses this could grow to service not just Kinleith but the whole of the Waikato,” said Mr Landman.

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