Kerbside recycling is on track to commence in the Wakatipu Basin in the spring of this year, Queenstown Lakes District Council waste manager Dr Linda Wright said.
“We are in the process now of evaluating tenders and will be conducting interviews this week,” she said.
A recommendation would then go to full Council at the end of this month.
“We are looking for an operator for the recycling recovery park, a builder for the project and also a contractor to operate the kerbside recycling,” Dr Wright said.
If the Council was in a position to make a decision this month, building could commence in March.
“Our aim is to have kerbside recycling in place by September/October this year in order to bed it in before the Christmas peak,” Dr Wright said.
Meanwhile all residents could continue recycling in the Wakatipu by accessing the free recycling centre at the Frankton Transfer Station or by taking their recycling to the Wakatipu Waste Recyclers in Queenstown Industrial Place for a small fee.
“We already know from the number of businesses recycling and the number of people using the Frankton facility that the practise of recycling is already strong in the basin. We’re hoping for a relatively smooth transition to kerbside,” Dr Wight said.
An education campaign would commence prior to the introduction of the kerbside service.
“We are hoping it will be as successful as Wanaka, which was introduced to kerbside recycling last year. It has proved to be an absolute winner,” Dr Wright said.
