Global recycling crisis not yet felt in Dunedin
MORE than 8860 tonnes of material was put into recycling bins by Dunedin residents last year — but it is getting harder and harder to do the right thing.
Since January China, historically the main destination for New Zealand’s recycling, has heavily restricted the importation of products, meaning the global market for recyclable material has collapsed.
Other countries such as Malaysia and Vietnam are now taking some material, but the size of the Chinese market means that even combined, they are unable to take the previous volume, which has led to a price slump.
In Dunedin, the recycling placed into the Dunedin City Council’s bins is collected by EnviroWaste, which subcontracts the sorting of the materials to Oji Fibre Solutions, which in turn sells it to the highest bidder.
Council waste and environmental manager Chris Henderson said all of the city’s residential recycling continued to be sold on for recycling.
The Chinese restrictions had not been an issue for the council so far, Mr Henderson said.
If demand for certain materials changed, Oji had the ability to store recycling for a few months until alternative markets were available, Mr Henderson said.
No recycling material had been put into landfill since the current recycling contract was signed six years ago.
The city’s waste management and minimisation plan was now under review, he said.
New options for recycling would be explored during the review and a revised plan would be opened for public consultation as part of the 201920 annual plan process.
Of the 8860 tonnes of material placed into the city’s recycling bins from 2016 to 2017, 960 tonnes, or 11%, was contaminated and could not be sold.
After kerbside inspections by the council last year, that rate has now dropped to about 7%.
Oji Fibre Solutions environment and external relations group manager Philip Millichamp said many of the customers who bought Dunedin’s recycling were agents or intermediaries who onsold the material to offshore parties.
Oji’s council contract did not require it to track or authorise customers, Mr Millichamp said.
WasteMINZ chief executive Paul Evans said Dunedin’s recycling system was common across New Zealand and just because the final destination of the material was not always known it did not mean it was not recycled correctly.
‘‘Nobody is going to pay for something then not sell it and dump it in a landfill — it just doesn’t make financial sense.’’
While the global recycling crisis was hurting shortterm, Mr Evans believed it would lead to better systems in the future.