A new recycling centre is being built in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga with $2.2 million from the Ministry for the Environment's Waste Minimisation Fund.
Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage and Auckland Mayor Phil Goff announced the plan for the new community facility today as part of the Government's plan to reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills.
"The new centre will mean people living in and around Onehunga will be able to drop off goods they no longer need to be recycled or given a new lease of life with a new owner rather than ending up in the tip.
"It is estimated the new centre will divert around 70 per cent of the material received from landfill, highlighting the importance of the initiative," Sage said.
It is expected the Onehunga Recycling Centre at Victoria St will be fully operational by 2021. It will provide a full range of community recycling services, including drop-off areas for different waste types, processing, purchase and sale of reusable goods and extra services such as community learning.
"This centre is expected to mean 260,000 fewer wheelie bins worth of waste ending up in landfill each year by 2025 [3600 tonnes] and it will create 15 new jobs for locals," said Sage.
Goff said the centre will provide a range of recycling services including the processing, purchase and sale of reusable goods and extra services such as community learning, as well as providing processing capacity for the Great North Rd, Western Springs site, which has limited space.
"This will be Auckland's ninth Community Recycling Centre and will complement the great
work being carried out by current CRC operators across the region to develop our circular
economy," Goff said.
Maungakiekie-Tāmaki Ward Councillor Josephine Bartley said having the recycling centre in Onehunga will create employment, volunteering and educational opportunities for locals.
"This is a long-held community aspiration and it's fantastic to see it coming to fruition," she said.
