Stimulus funding welcome for recycling plant upgrades

Local Government New Zealand (LGNZ) has today welcomed the stimulus funding to upgrade seven high-tech recycling plants across New Zealand, including recommendations on how New Zealand’s kerbside recycling can be standardised.

LGNZ is the peak body representing New Zealand’s 78 local councils, providing a unified voice for the sector and a pathway for continuous improvement through CouncilMARK™.

“As a sector, local government commends Minister Sage for the work she has been leading in this space,“ says LGNZ President Stuart Crosby. “We particularly welcome the open and collaborative approach taken by the government, and have worked closely with officials on the kerbside standards to ensure they are best placed to meet New Zealand’s needs.”

“Our communities have consistently been calling for urgent action on waste and recycling, and the Government is hearing that and responding.  We have never seen so many initiatives or investment from the Government in the waste area as we are seeing now.”

“LGNZ is looking forward to working with the Government on a strategic plan for waste.  This will be critical when the additional funding comes on stream through the waste minimisation fund.  A strategic approach will help to give us the scale we need to economically process waste and recyclables onshore,“ continued Mr Crosby.

“We look forward to working with the government to move towards collecting the standardised materials and to identifying and removing any blocks in the way.”