We are not being surrounded by aliens from outer space after all, but by PVC monsters.
I have read a couple of magazine articles recently (thank you, Bill Ralston) that mention the problem of road cones, or at least ones that seem to have been left behind after road works finish, or dumped. This made me think - who makes the orange cones? What are they made of? Are they made locally or imported, and are they made from recycled material? What do they cost? How many go AWOL every year? Can you help?
Christine Jamieson, Balmoral.
What excellent questions. The orange cones are made from moulded PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The ones most often seen around road works in the city are 900mm tall and weigh 4.5kg. There are heavier ones, at 6.3kg, and these are used in other situations; for example, along motorways where the wind from passing trucks would blow the lighter ones over. There are a large number of slim-line models and other variations available, but for brevity's sake, I'll restrict this to the 4.5kg type.
About two-thirds of the cones are made in New Zealand by a company called Proline, which is the only local manufacturer. The rest are imported, most commonly from Taiwan. The locally made ones do contain recycled material, largely old cones. A cone will endure two years or so of heavy usage, and up to 20 years of less frequent use.
Don Brebner of Proline told me he distributes his cones through a company called RTL, one of two or three large road safety and traffic management equipment supply companies in New Zealand.
Kerri Cross, RTL product manager, says they sell the 4.5kg cones for around $30 each, depending on the quantity bought and the amount of labelling or branding required. Imported cones are cheaper, but the quality is variable.
RTL sells about 60,000 4.5kg cones a year, and the number rises to 70,000-100,000 when all types of cone are counted.
No wonder we see so many of them around. It's almost impossible to estimate how many cones are in use at any one time, but these figures give some indication.
RTL also encourages its customers to return old cones for recycling, to try to reduce the number going to landfills. Ms Cross says they also get phone calls from members of the public who have found cones over the back fence, or apparently forgotten after a job, and they're happy to collect them. An answer to your problem, Mr Ralston? Phone (09) 259-2600.
There are strict regulations governing the use of road cones, covering things like height, colour, weight, and spacing alongside a job, which depends on the frequency and speed of traffic in the location, among other things.
The loss rate is also difficult to assess.
Bruce Goodall , who is in charge of traffic management at Fulton Hogan, reckons it could be as high as 20-25 per cent, because of theft and wear and tear.
James Smith, marketing manager at RTL, thinks the loss rate is falling because of better ways of counting cones off and on a truck during a job.
The highest loss rates appear to be in university cities such as Dunedin, he says. Those scarfies, eh?
