Glass recycling plan proves a smash hit

A new recycling initiative will give new life to tonnes of waste glass that would have otherwise ended up in the landfill.

Launched yesterday at Te Maunga Transfer Station, the glass recycling facility will allow glass to be sorted by colour types and sent to Auckland where it will be recycled.

Green, brown and clear bottles will be broken down and turned into bottles again, while flat glass will be crushed and made into wall insulation.

Bottle recycling has been happening in Tauranga for 20 years, but the recycling of flat glass is a new initiative.

A partnership between the Tauranga City Council, the Glass Packaging Forum and EnviroWaste, the new initiative is expected to save 1300 tonnes of flat glass from the landfill annually.

Six sorting bays have been constructed at the Te Maunga Transfer Station thanks to a $47,000 grant from the TCC's waste minimisation fund and a $7000 grant from the Glass Packaging Forum.

Flat glass can now be sorted into opaque, laminated and double-glazed before being transported to glass recycler 5R Solutions in Auckland where it will be turned into wall insulation.

Tauranga Mayor Stuart Crosby, present at the facility launch yesterday, said the council had granted money from the waste minimisation fund, generated from a $10 levy on every tonne of waste that went to landfill.

Environment Minister Amy Adams, also present, said the Government had collected about $76 million from the levy since it was introduced in 2009.

Fifty per cent of the money is distributed to local authorities so that they can encourage waste minimisation projects, she said.

"I think Tauranga should really be commended for their foresight in this area and today's initiative is yet another example of the community working with the Tauranga City Council.

"I think the glass industry is really a leader in regards to taking stewardship of their products all the way through and it's tremendous to see the passion with which they are encouraging and bringing along all parts of the sector."

Initially, most of the flat glass will be off-cuts from Tauranga glass cutter Metro Glass Tech, although the council hopes to gain the support of other glass cutters.