Lifting the lid on Christchurch’s recycling facility

The city’s recycling facility on Parkhouse Road, Wigram, is opening its doors to residents on 9 March from 9am – 1pm.

The EcoSort facility, which is usually closed to the public, will be offering a chance for people to check out the recent $16.8 million upgrade, get up close to one of the recycling collection trucks, and chat to the team about recent national kerbside changes. Prizes will also be available throughout the day.

“This is a great opportunity for residents to understand what happens to your recycling after it’s collected, and to learn more about why putting the right material in the right bin really matters,” says Resource Recovery Manager Dr Alec McNeil.

“You will also be able to ask any questions you may have about how the recent kerbside collection changes affect our region, as we know residents are still getting used to the standardised recycling rules that rolled out on 1 February.”

Dr McNeil says we all have a part to play in supporting Christchurch to recycle, as recycling trucks that are contaminated with the wrong items are sent to landfill.

“Christchurch residents are good at recycling, so it’s important to put the right items in your yellow bin to keep it this way.

“Our local and overseas markets who buy our recycling product have very high standards, so we need to make sure the right quality items are placed in the right bins to be successfully on-sold.”

Christchurch City Council cohosts the open day with EcoCentral who operates the Ecosort facility at the Parkhouse Road site. EcoCentral also run the EcoShop on Blenheim Road and the 3 Ecodrop transfer stations where our Recycling Centres accept a wide range of items for free that can be reused.

Entry to the open day is free and parking is available on with limited parking onsite for mobility permit holders. For more information on recycling call 03 941 8999 or at ccc.govt.nz/yellowbin.