Tauranga City Council has been making provisions for city glass recycling in response to Tauranga's private kerbside collection providers ceasing to accept glass for recycling at the beginning of this month.

To cope with the expected influx of glass at the city's two transfer stations, glass storage bays and recycling drop off areas have been expanded.

Previously, private operators would have taken collected glass directly to Waste Management's recycling facility, so new provisions at the transfer stations have been required to handle the increase in demand.

A grant of just over $30,000 from the Glass Packaging Forum assisted with the costs of enlarging concrete pads and glass storage bays at the Te Maunga Transfer Station.

TCC acting manager resource recovery and waste Cathy Davidson says the expansion allows for nearly double the previous capacity of glass to be stored in colour-separated glass bays prior to being transported to Auckland for recycling into new glass products.

'We are very grateful to the Glass Packaging Forum for their generous contribution,” she says.

'In additional response to the end of private kerbside glass collections, the council has also proposed to provide a rates-funded kerbside glass collection service to start as soon as possible this year. This glass collection proposal is up for public consultation this month as part of the council's draft Long Term Plan 2018-2028.”

TCC also has a proposed a full kerbside collection service in the Long Term Plan, which would provide rubbish, organic (food and/or garden waste) and mixed recycling collections – including glass.

However, if adopted, this full service would not commence until 2021 due to the time it takes to set up and implement a city-wide service.

'The interim proposed kerbside glass collection has the potential to divert as much as 6000 tonnes of glass per year from landfill. Glass is infinitely recyclable and should be kept out of landfill.”

To learn more about the proposed rates-funded interim glass, and full kerbside collection services, please visit www.tauranga.govt.nz/rates-funded-kerbside-collections

To have your say during the Long Term Plan Public consultation period, which is open from March 16 to April 16, visit www.tauranga.govt.nz/long-term-plan