Western BOP set to roll out best practice glass recycling service

The Glass Packaging Forum has welcomed the Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s move to roll out a new kerbside service, which includes a best practice glass-separate collection.

The Forum, which helped Tauranga City Council get its glass collection service off the ground in 2018, has stepped up to assist the Council with a funding grant of $21,500.

Western Bay of Plenty District Council Resource Recovery & Waste Team Leader Ilze Kruis says this is the first rates-funded kerbside service in the district for more than 24 years, with EnviroWaste having been awarded the contract. The service is set to kick off from 1 July.

“The new services involve a weekly PAYT (pay as you throw) rubbish collection using a 140l mobile bin, fortnightly mixed recycling using a 240l mobile bin, fortnightly glass crate collection using a 45l crate, and a weekly food waste collection in the urban areas with a 23l bin,” she says.

The new collection system will see as much as 3,000 tonnes more glass being collected for recycling.

Glass Packaging Forum Scheme Manager Dominic Salmon says he’s pleased to see the council introduce a glass collection service which maximises glass recovery for the district. “Glass separate collections are the best practice method as they prevent contamination and improve not only the quality of the glass but the other recyclables too.

“There is an ever-growing number of councils around the country, including the council’s neighbour, Tauranga City Council, offering this service, which results in vastly better outcomes than co-mingled (everything in one bin) recycling collections.”

The GPF’s grants are funded by voluntary levies paid by its members, with over $3.7 million in grants funded to date to projects which improve glass recovery and recycling in New Zealand.