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The collection point outside Mangawhai ITM.
Northern households and construction firms can recycle waste polystyrene for the first time, thanks to a collection point set up at Mangawhai ITM.
Interior installer Matt Strong, of Finess Interiors, saw an opportunity to recycle his own polystyrene waste and decided to extend it to the rest of the region.
His company does commercial interior fit-outs for large buildings in Auckland and generates a significant amount of polystyrene waste from flat pack furniture.
Matt says the two-cubic metre polystyrene collection bin was filled within three days of being placed there.
“I had another call from a local builder today. He said he had three cubic metres he was looking to drop off.”
It is the first collection point for polystyrene waste north of the Harbour Bridge.
Matt and his fleet of workers transport the polystyrene themselves from Mangawhai to Auckland to be recycled.
“There’s no financial gain for us. We just wanted to get on board with Mangawhai’s ambition to be a zero-waste town.”
“It’s just fortunate we have a number of vehicles travelling to Auckland for work each day.”
Matt is also working on setting up another collection point at the Warkworth ITM.
The polystyrene is recycled by Auckland insulation producer Expol which is able to turn the waste into a number of products.
Expol sustainability manager Cameron Brooks says the challenge has been to design new useful products to make use of the diverted waste.
Expol’s Styrodrain product is made of 100 per cent recycled material. It is used for building retaining walls, in place of scoria, to allow water to drain.
Another product called Tuffboard is used as a filler beneath poured concrete to provide insulation, as well as reduce the volume of concrete needed.
Expol has 25 collection points around the country, but has only been able to place them where its trucks already travel.
Each month, it is recycling 900 cubic metres of polystyrene from collection, and a total of 3000 cubic metres including its own insulation off-cuts.
Polystyrene cannot be recycled through normal household recycle bin collection.
