A $1.2 million rubbish facility for building and business waste is coming to New Plymouth.
The New Plymouth District Council will open a waste sorting facility in Colson Rd for business waste in the first half of next year.
The Ministry for the Environment is paying $420,550, with the rest coming from the council's solid waste fund and user charges.
District councillor Richard Handley says the new waste sorting facility for business will make a huge dent in the amount of rubbish our district generates.
"Currently, 60 per cent or about 45,000 tonnes of the rubbish we send to the landfill is commercial and industrial waste. We're talking about skips of building materials heading to the dump and we're aiming to divert 5000 tonnes of those materials – reuse and recycle them through local businesses – in the first year the commercial waste sorting facility is open, as we strive for Zero Waste 2040. It's got huge potential and will create six new jobs."