Tasman recycling takes on the region

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Tasman’s new materials recovery facility (MRF) is extending its reach, processing recycling collected in Nelson City as well as the Tasman District.

Nelson recycling contractor, Nelmac began sending its recycling to the Tasman MRF in November adding an extra 150 tonnes of recycled material per month.

The new facility only began operating out of Richmond in July, but was built to sort regional volumes of recycling, and has the capacity for future growth.

Tasman District Council funded the $1.4 million building while Tasman’s contractor, Smart Environmental, purchased the $1.1 million recovery plant and relocated existing plant into the new building.

The recovery centre employs manual sorters but also uses a machine to sort paper, cans and bottles. The recycled material is sent to national and international markets.

Smart Environmental has hired two new staff members to help with the increased volumes being processed.

The changes Tasman District made to its kerbside recycling service this year, which added recycling capacity for households with larger bins and increased sorting capacity with the MRF, were intended to lift recycling volumes and reduce the amount of waste heading to a landfill. It is expected recycling volumes will increase 10 to 20 per cent as a result.

The service has got off to a flying start, with early figures showing a 21 per cent increase in kerbside recycling volumes in the first four months (beginning of July to end of October) after the changes were implemented.