Recycling service to stay and improve

Posted by Nelson City Council on 11 June 2009

Recycling services are set to improve in Nelson, rather than reduce as proposed in the draft Nelson Community Plan.

In meetings this week, Councillors received news that markets for paper, plastic, steel, aluminium tins and cardboard have improved since the drafting of the Community Plan.  The proposal to collect and recycle glass only is now a thing of the past.

Infrastructure Committee Chair Mark Holmes said that the proposal to reduce recycling to just glass was based on a worst case scenario when recyclable commodity prices dropped and markets were very difficult to find late last year.  "Submissions to the draft Plan showed a great reluctance to let go of the excellent progress we've made with recycling. People are really committed to recycling and we heard that loud and clear. The decision means that recycling will continue as is, and in fact there is further improvement with plastics 3 to 7 also now to be included in the scheme."

Subject to final approval of the Nelson Community Plan, it is hoped that collection of the new types of plastics could begin in July this year, but Council staff will need to liaise with Nelmac, their recycling contractor to confirm this. 

Councillor Holmes also pointed out that notwithstanding what has been reported in the media, no recyclables have gone to the landfill to date; plastic has been stockpiled and there was a market found for paper, albeit at reduced prices.

The cost for continuing with recycling as well as extending this to collecting plastics 3 to 7 will be around $730,000 annually.  There will be no cost to the ratepayer as this is recovered from landfill charges. The impact of continuing with recycling will increase landfill charges from $65 per tonne to $89 per tonne which includes the $10 per tonne Central Government levy due to begin in July this year.  The only possible cost increase may be in the price of rubbish bags but Nelmac have indicated they will hold the cost of their blue bags at current levels for the next year but following that a minimal increase of around five cents a bag is anticipated.

Read more about recycling in Nelson