EcoCentral’s Yellow wheelie bin includes recyclable materials like aluminium cans

EcoCentral, the Christchurch-based waste management service, has renovated its Materials Recovery Facility on Parkhouse Road, Sockburn, using the Covid-19 Response and Recovery Fund received from the Ministry for the Environment.

Following a $16.8 million overhaul of the city's recycling centre, residents are encouraged to recycle correctly. The yellow wheelie bin for recycling in Christchurch will contain recyclable materials like aluminium cans, glass bottles, clean cardboard, paper, tin, rigid plastic bottles and containers labelled with the numbers 1, 2, or 5.

"Updating the technology means the plant will be able to sort paper and plastics to a higher standard where we can meet 0.5 per cent contamination threshold. This means we will be able to sell to international markets easier," said EcoCentral Chief Executive Craig Downie.

Eight optical sorters, two ballistic screens, four bounce conveyors, and an eddy current separator are just a few of the new pieces of machinery installed. With the update, the facility that sorts and prepares Christchurch's recycling for sale will have more capacity to separate plastics, paper, and cardboard.

“However we will only be able to do this if we continue to receive high quality recycling – this means everyone putting the right items in the right bins. If wrong items go into the yellow bin it can contaminate the recycling, meaning we may be unable to sell the material,” added Craig Downie.