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Difficult to dispose of waste such as polystyrene, batteries, e-waste and old appliances will be accepted at the Whangaparaoa Community Recycling Centre from Thursday, October 26, onwards.
The centre has been doing user surveys since the community-based organisation Hibiscus Coast Zero Waste took over the Whangaparaoa Road operation earlier this year.
The surveys show that as well as cardboard, glass, plastics and metals, there is demand for the disposal of other common waste such as polystyrene.
Zero waste member Betsy Kettle says however, it will be necessary to charge for the new service.
“Unlike cardboard and glass, which can be recycled locally, polystyrene has to be compressed into blocks before being shipped overseas,” Betsy says. “The polystyrene is compacted to 1/40th of its original volume and sent to China to make picture frames.”
Likewise, batteries are classified as dangerous goods and require significant paperwork before they can be shipped to Australia.
“To make the shipment economically viable, an entire shipping container must be filled before applying for overseas transport.
“To make things easier, we have Battery Buckets available for sale, which can be used as drop-off points for all types of hand-held batteries, from tiny hearing aids to big flashlight batteries. The purchase of the buckets covers the cost of shipping to Australia so employees and customers can drop off batteries for free at businesses that have them.”
Polystyrene charging rates will be based on quantity, batteries by weight and e-waste and appliances by type. Brochures that explain the charges are available at the Recycling Centre.
The centre will be staffed fulltime from October 26 onwards to offer better customer service and prevent illegal dumping.
In order to do this, it will close on Wednesdays, and will be open to 4pm on all other days.
