No Time Wasted as Council Celebrates Decade of Innovation

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Published: 29 Aug 2016

Timaru District Mayor Damon Odey and Waste Management CEO, Tom Nichols planting a weeping elm tree at Redruth Resource Recovery Park to celebrate 10 years of collaboration.The Timaru District Council and Waste Management celebrated 10 years of innovation in waste services this week.

A group of staff, councillors, contractors and guests  gathered at the Redruth Resource Recovery Park to celebrate the decade of collaboration, which saw the launch of a whole new approach to waste management and the introduction of the branded 3-2-1-ZERO  three-bin system to the district.

There are now more than 18,500 households using the kerbside collection service, and over 60,000 bins out in the community being collected regularly.

Timaru District Mayor, Damon Odey acknowledged the partnership between the council and Waste Management in making the district’s waste services some of the best in Australasia.

“It is great to be celebrating ten years. Our scheme was a first for New Zealand and I’d like to acknowledge the councillors and council staff,” he said.

“Once again it’s being bold enough to say look we have to make the change and start looking after the community and the environment. Thanks to this system and maximising the amount that we reuse, recycle and divert from landfill we’ve extended the life of our landfill, with 26 years till closure, that’s phenomenal.

“The longevity of this contract has been one of the key strengths, and although the name of the company has changed, key members of staff have remained constant and ensure what is an incredibly complex system runs smoothly.”

A recent survey of Timaru district residents shows that the system is also popular among ratepayers. Of those polled, 92% said they were extremely satisfied with overall waste management services.

The kerbside collection services, with the supporting facilities for processing and disposal built at Redruth, have achieved key goals of high levels of diversion from landfill, with landfill life now extended to 26 years, production of high quality compost and high levels of environmental management of waste disposal.

Tom Nickels, CEO of Waste Management said that due to the close and collaborative nature of the contract they have consistently found ways of improving and refining the service, ultimately to the benefit of the people of Timaru.

“This doesn’t happen by accident, it happens through people being open and working together and good communications channels all the way through both organisations. We regard Timaru District Council as being very progressive in New Zealand, and what you have here is an absolute showcase for the whole country.

“There is no other single site in New Zealand that has full kerbside collection, a transfer station, a state of the art and largely automated materials recovery facility, composting facility and an environmentally sustainable landfill in one place.

“The introduction of the three bin system was another first in New Zealand, and another example of how progressive Timaru has been.”

The Timaru District Waste Services contract with Waste Management consists of kerbside collection, recycling and organics processing, waste disposal to landfill and the operation of the four transfer stations.  There are four transfer stations, the Redruth Resource Recovery Park, which incorporates the Timaru transfer station as well as Geraldine, Temuka and Pleasant Point sites. There are compost sales at all sites.

The council also plays a leading role in supporting and educating people in being more sustainable in their daily lives. This includes running the Crow’s Nest drop off and shop; eScrap recycling; school and community group education sessions and site tours; Modern Cloth Nappy workshops and business advisory and waste audit services.

For more information visit: https://www.timaru.govt.nz/services/environment/waste-minimisation

Last updated: 24 Feb 2021