Environment centre tackling the construction waste ‘beast’
Keen DIYers can unearth even more treasures at the recycling hub known to locals as Mitre 11 with the launch of a scheme to recycle construction waste.
Nelson City Council and Nelson Environment Centre (NEC)’s Reconstruct project will tackle the high volume of construction and demolition waste that ends up in Nelson’s landfill.
According to government estimates, this type of waste makes up almost 50% of the country’s total landfill waste.
NEC chief executive Anton Drazevic called this a “horrific figure”.
“It’s been on our horizon to attack this beast for a long time.”
Meanwhile, with the cost of construction material rising 25% between 2020 and 2022, there was a steady demand for recycled materials among DIY enthusiasts heading to the hub many called Mitre 11, Drazevic said. “With costs increasing across the board, we’re seeing a lot of people through our ReUse store deciding to give things a second life. Reconstruct helps fill a gap in the market.”
Although NEC has been accepting building materials for some time, the initiative will allow them to expand, with items like timber, doors, windows, kitchen fittings, gib and paint going to a new facility.
“Any form of construction material we can recover we want to keep in the system,” Drazevic said.
Staff aimed to make the process as streamlined as possible, he said.
“We totally appreciate and understand that ... builders are under pressure to deliver and be mindful of their clients. This is only going to work if we collaborate with builders to make it as efficient as possible.”
NEC had other projects in the pipeline, Drazevic said. On their list was polystyrene, which makes up a significant share of construction waste.
“We’re researching this at the moment. Every oven, every fridge, door handles: a lot of stuff is packaged in polystyrene.”
Nelson’s four largest building companies — Coman Construction, Gibbons, Fitzgerald Construction, and Scott Construction
— have joined in the efforts to tackle construction waste.
Along with Nelson and Tasman councils, the companies form the Nelson Construction Environment Alliance. This group aims to make the construction industry more sustainable by recognising that small changes can lead to big results.
One of the alliance’s focuses is the amount of soft, coloured plastic that goes into landfill from worksites.
Scott Construction’s training and staff development manager Steve McIntyre said in just one week, a tonne of plastic sheets from seven sites had been collected for recycling.
Recycling meant savings for businesses as well as a positive environmental impact, McIntyre said. “A skip of plasterboard waste is dumped at a cost of $300 a tonne, there could be 4 tonnes in a skip bin, and several skips per project.
“This is a cost that can be passed on to the consumer. Reuse and waste diversion is quickly becoming a good economical choice for construction companies.”