Taupō District Council's Broadlands Road waste recovery centre will undergo a $5.3 million upgrade, with funding announced today from central government, a separate government allocation, and council rates.
The funding breaks down as $2.3 million from a central government grant announced today, $2 million from a separate waste minimisation funding allocation to the council from government, and an estimated $1 million from rates, the final figure to be confirmed once the project goes out to tender.
The upgrade will allow skip and bin truckloads to be inspected, sorted and classed on site, rather than going straight to the tip head.
Taupō District Council Environmental Impacts Manager Brent Aitken said the new facility would give the council the ability to intercept material currently going straight to landfill. "We want to be able to take it through our new shed, it'll have a large floor on it, it'll have a machine there... they'll be able to pick through that load of material, divert the material that we can, we've got markets for, the rest of it will be pushed into the bin," Aitken said.
Taupō District Council Deputy Mayor Kevin Taylor said the upgrade was about more than just council or government action. "This isn't a Taupo District Council issue or a central government issue, this is an everybody issue," Taylor said. "It's an attitude change that we have... we've had a throwaway culture in New Zealand, in fact most of the Western world, for three generations, and we need to just refocus... this is a huge step in the right direction."
Taupō MP Louise Upston welcomed the investment, saying it would help the council reduce costs and boost recycling capacity. "Residents will be able to recycle a wider range of materials, reduce household and business costs, and increase their contribution to sustainability," Upston said.
The upgrade is expected to divert at least 8,000 tonnes of waste from landfill in its first year of operation, with completion set for 2028.
