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Christchurch City Scene
November 2002

Lead Stories

Leaky home moves

A celebration of Aranui

Reflections on peace

Sculpting new Gallery's skin

Wastewater plant 40

 

Back to the November Index

Kerbside recycling numbers increasing


The amount of materials recovered through the City Council’s kerbside recycling collection is steadily increasing. In August 1998, with full city participation, just under 900 tonnes was collected for the month.

Now the usual monthly total is around 1300t.

In the year to the end of June 1999 (the City Council financial year runs from 1 July to 30 June), about 11,650t was recovered. In the year to end- June 2002, just over 15,300t of materials was recovered for recycling.

So far, about 59,000t of material has now been diverted for recycling. Uncompacted it would cover the Botanic Gardens to a depth of 2m (If it had gone to the landfill, it would first be compacted and the volume reduced by up to 80 per cent).

Paper and cardboard make up both the largest volume and tonnage, taking up about half the available space in the Onyx trucks and averaging out to 60% of the total weight recovered.

By weight, the percentage of paper in the total recyclables fluctuates over the year. In summer, especially around December, up to 65% of recoveries is paper. In winter, the percentage of paper can drop as low as 50%.

Glass on average makes up 30% of the total weight, plastic 4% and metals 6%.

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