Every year, New Zealand businesses make up a large percentage of the more than 3 million tonnes of rubbish that finds its way into our nation's landfills. Cairns Group wants to change that.

In what is a first for recycling activities in regional New Zealand, Cairns Group is making a significant investment in a recovery facility due to be operational by the end of 2010. This facility will reduce the amount of commercial and residential waste by up to 80%, recycling collected materials rather than letting it go to landfill.

More incentives to reduce landfill use
The economic costs of landfills are also set to increase with the introduction of ETS levies and Government legislation, such as increased landfill waste levies, that is putting more pressure on businesses and individuals to reduce their impact on the environment.

In the past, there have been limited options for businesses wanting to be environmentally-friendly. The Cairns Group wants to change that by introducing their new Large Materials Recovery Facility (LMRF) at the Matthews Avenue Central Transfer Station site in Palmerston North. The new facility is due to be open for business by the end of 2010.
While there is a limited number of these facilities operating here in New Zealand they are all based in large cities. This plant is a first for regional New Zealand and a welcome boost to our clean, green reputation.

This significant investment is making waste separation for businesses a viable option, something that previously was generally only available as residential kerbside collection for small recyclable items.

Reduce landfill by 80%
Cairn Group's existing Central Transfer Station, which is located on Matthews Avenue in Palmerston North, will be redeveloped into a Large Materials Recovery Facility (LMRF) and will have capacity to process ‘large material' waste from throughout the region.

Typically this represents all the waste material which is not able to be collected by the PNCC Kerbside collection service, designed only for small materials.

The recovery of materials that will be processed at the new LMRF will include:

• Anything that residents currently take to the Transfer Station
• All builder waste; from either trailers or skip bins
• All construction and demolition waste, both DIY and professional
• All waste from commercial premises (ask for a free waste audit to determine how much of your current waste can be recycled using the new LMRF)

Conservative estimates indicate the plant will reduce the volume of landfill waste currently processed by the Cairns Group by approximately 80%.

Since the LMRF plant is the first of its kind in regional New Zealand, it will prove to be a good testing ground for other regions looking to establish something similar.

While benefiting the local Manawatu region with economic and environmental gains, Cairns Group are looking at accepting material from outside the area for recycling, to promote waste minimisation right across the North Island.