Whanganui recycling centre to keep accepting paper and cardboard

People will lose confidence if the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre stops accepting paper and cardboard, district councillor Rob Vinsen says. Photo / Bevan Conley

In an about-face, Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre will continue recycling paper and cardboard into next year.

Whanganui District Council decided in August the centre would stop taking cardboard and paper because it was projected to cost $180,000 a year to recycle.

However, it has changed its mind because the cost of recycling is less than expected and alternative end uses are being sought.

The actual cost is more like $40,000 to $100,000, councillor Rob Vinsen said.

That's partly because confusion about whether the centre is accepting paper and cardboard has meant people have been bringing less. There may also be less because of trading changes because of Covid-19.

The centre is looking for new ways to use the resource. For the first six months of next year will try shredding it and processing it into fuel for diesel engines.

Another possibility is supplying it to Hawk Packaging in Hawke's Bay for use in fruit packaging.

Paper and cardboard will continue to be accepted for recycling at the centre "for the foreseeable future", councillors were told at Tuesday's meeting.

Council waste adviser Stuart Hylton said paper and cardboard have been a "bastion" product for the centre.

Hylton and Vinsen said not taking them would severely dent people's confidence about recycling.

However, the centre will stop taking plastics number 3, 4, 6 and 7 from January 1. These are about 6 per cent of all the plastic taken to the centre, Vinsen said. Other cities have also stopped accepting them, and some manufacturers are moving their packaging to recyclable 1, 2 and 5 plastics.