New hubs to enable recycling in inner city
THREE new recycling hubs will be installed in Dunedin over the next couple of months.
Work is under way for the first, in Moray Pl, and two more will be installed in the tertiary area on a trial basis next month.
Dunedin City Council waste minimisation officer Leigh McKenzie said the new hubs would make it easier for students and innercity residents to recycle.
‘‘Residents in the CBD don’t have access to a weekly kerbside recycling service, while students sometimes have more recycling than fits into their recycling bins.’’
The new CBD recycling hub, next to the Countdown supermarket in Moray Pl, would open next week.
The tertiary area hubs, on the corner of St David St and Forth St, near the Otago Polytechnic, and next to the University of Otago’s Marsh Study Centre in Castle St, were likely to open in March and early April.
The recycling hubs would only be for properties in the nearby area.
There were two existing residential recycling hubs in the city, one on the other side of Moray Pl and one in Vogel St.
The Otago Polytechnic, the University of Otago and the supermarket had each provided the sites for the hubs.
The Moray Pl hub’s industrial look was designed to reflect the area’s past; the area had historically been home to plumbers and engineers, metal founders and manufacturers.
Otago Polytechnic bachelor of architectural studies students had helped to design the hubs in the tertiary area, which would also feature murals.
Each hub cost about $80,000. The new hub in Moray Pl is directly beside two bus shelters, which service the popular intercity bus service stop.
Ms McKenzie said the units were designed to contain odour and were only for clean recycling material.
The hub would be emptied up to three times a week and as required.
No complaints had been received about odour at the council’s existing inner city recycling hubs of similar design.
Otago Regional Council transport manager Garry Maloney said the council was planning to relocate a third bus shelter to the stop to meet the high demand there.