All glass from the Council’s drop-off recycling facility near Spicer Landfill is colour sorted – and recycled.
Porirua City Council is planning changes to its recycling system to ensure its glass can be recycled. A change to a contract in 2022 means that, since then, Porirua's glass has been used for drainage and roading at its landfill, instead of being properly recycled.
Mike Mendonça, Porirua City General Manager Infrastructure, says that the Council is currently consulting on a proposal that would enable all of the glass collected at the kerbside to be recycled.
“In Porirua, glass that currently gets picked up at the kerbside is colour mixed and recyclers will not accept that for recycling. Because of this, we’re proposing to reintroduce glass crates so that bottles and jars can be colour sorted at the kerb. This is part of our Long-term Plan consultation with the community,” says Mike. "This would mean that all the glass could be properly recycled."
Porirua City’s Long-term Plan puts forward a proposal to introduce a new rates-funded kerbside rubbish and recycling collection service, so that all households will have a rates-funded rubbish bin, mixed recycling bin, and glass recycling crate.
“We believe that providing everyone with a rates-funded service – so that there is equitable access to the same, safer collections – will reduce recycling contamination rates and the amount of litter that ends up in our harbour.
“We think that our existing recycling system doesn't really deliver the environmental outcomes to which our community aspires. We're proposing a system change that would require a change in behaviour from residents and contractors. Unfortunately it will also be more expensive.
“When Porirua City first introduced glass recycling bins, all of the glass collected was being recycled. Changes in the industry have meant we need to change how we sort, collect and recycle glass.”
All glass from the Council’s drop off recycling facility near Spicer Landfill is colour sorted – and recycled.
We know that the current system isn’t working as intended, which is why we’re encouraging everyone to have their say on our proposal as part of our Long-term Plan consultation here: https://haveyoursay.poriruacity.govt.nz/porirua-city-2024-2034-long-term-plan
Details of what’s being proposed can be found here.
5 Apr 2024
As part of our draft Long-term Plan (or LTP) we're consulting on a proposal to introduce a new rates-funded recycling and collection service. The LTP sets out what we plan to do in the next 10 years and how we'll pay for it. At our LTP engagement hub, you can read our draft LTP, read the proposal, watch a video and make a submission.
