New design coming for Buller District Library cards
Buller District Council and the Karamea Waste Management Group (KWMG) sealed the deal for two major investments to go ahead at the Karamea landfill this year.
The two projects aim to install a weighbridge at the Karamea landfill and to upgrade the Karamea Resource Recovery Centre.
The weighbridge project encompasses purchasing, installing, and integrating a weighbridge to record the accurate amount of refuse received and disposed of.
Council’s solid waste coordinator Juliana Ruiz says: “The new weighbridge will allow council and WestReef to provide stakeholders with more precise data of waste being disposed of at the Karamea landfill. This enables better future planning and management of the landfill.”
The Karamea landfill weighbridge project is estimated to cost $110,000 and is principally funded by the Ministry for Environment (MfE) through the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF). The Ministry’s contribution is $100,000, with the remaining $10,000 funded by the council.
Ms Ruiz says: “A big benefit for the Karamea community is that users will be charged more accurately for their refuse since the weighbridge will allow to charge according to waste weight, instead of volume, as it is done currently.”
The second project is the Karamea Resource Recovery Centre upgrade. This project has an estimated cost of $70,000 and will be fully funded by the /Council through the Karamea Waste Management budget.
The goal of the upgrade is to build a suitable recycling area that facilitates better drop off, of recycling materials. The new recycling area will offer a proper space for resorting, storing and baling recyclable materials. The upgrade will also incorporate an appropriate office space for the site manager to receive customers.
“We are thrilled that the projects are taking shape now. The project planning stage was carried out over the last year involving the MfE, council, WestReef Services Ltd and the KWMG,”says Ms Ruiz.
The final designs are currently being drawn up and will be released to the community once approved by Council, WestReef and KWMG.
MfE’s project’s Investment Manager Sam Ārumugam says: “We’re proud to support Buller District Council on this project and looking forward to seeing the community benefiting from this initiative. This project exemplifies how local and central governments can join forces to support Aotearoa’s transition to a low waste, low carbon economy.”
It is expected that the projects could be completed by early 2023.
Background
Council manages three waste management zones in the Buller District. The area north of the Mokihinui Bridge including Karamea belongs to zone two.
There is no kerbside collection in zone two, refuse is disposed of in the Karamea Landfill which is operated by council’s contractor WestReef Services Ltd. The Karamea landfill is exclusively for residents living in this rural area.
In zone two recycling needs to be dropped off at the Karamea Recycling Centre. From there it is trucked to recycling facilities around the South Island for further processing or disposed of as refuse at the Karamea landfill.
The KWMG formed in 2013 to work with council with the aim of improving the management of waste and recycling in Karamea.
About the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund (CRRF): Weighbridge Infrastructure Investment
A one-off contestable funding round was held specifically for weighbridges infrastructure investment under the CRRF.
The initiatives were funded to:
- improve the quality and quantity of recycling collected and processed throughout the country
- reduce construction and demolition waste and organic materials to landfill
- improve the quality of waste data.
More information about the fund is available here: COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund: Waste minimisation and resource recovery initiatives | Ministry for the Environment
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further information please contact:
Solid waste coordinator
Juliana Ruiz
Juliana.ruiz@bdc.govt.nz