Case Study: Auckland Council Inorganics Collection Service

Waste Management has been providing the Inorganic Collection service for Auckland rate payers since 2015. A key objective of this service is to maximise material recovery and reuse. Reusable material is taken back to our facility in Pilkington Road where it is distributed to a community network of over 140 groups.

Collection Methodology

The fleet Waste Management uses are Euro 5 standard and are proposed to be upgraded to full electric or Euro 6 diesel vehicles to assist both Auckland Council and Waste Management with working towards reducing carbon emissions and achieving sustainability goals.

Waste Management’s collection methodology consists of a two-truck method, with a box-body truck and a rearload truck following a scheduled route. This method is a safe and efficient way of collecting the inorganic materials. The rearload truck is always in front of the box-body truck by about 5 meters and provides a safe haven for collection teams placing materials into the rearloader compactor.

Partnering with Community Groups

Waste Management works in partnership with the Zero Waste Network on this contract at the Pilkington Road Site where reusable materials are held from the Inorganic collections. The Zero Waste Network have considerable experience with reuse and repurpose of collected material. The Network provides opportunities for the material to go back to community groups via the Auckland Resource Recovery Network

This direct link from the community groups to the collection interface is a key objective for the Zero Waste Network and Auckland Council. The Zero Waste Network have an approved list of community groups they partner with of which are closely linked to the AMOTAI and Ᾱkina accreditation bodies.

Other innovations Waste Management have proposed on this contract includes a secondary sort line to improve the material recovery rate at the Resource Recovery Centre at Southdown Lane in Penrose. This facility currently separates materials such as timber and ferrous and non-ferrous metals, paper, cardboard, and plastics.

Award Winning Service

The Auckland Inorganics service is award winning and received top accolades at the Waste Management Industry New Zealand (WasteMINZ) industry awards in 2016. The Council won the best communication, engagement, or education initiative category for the inorganic collection service. Our team is very proud to have been part of the success for this and is committed to working with Council and the Auckland Resource Recovery Network for continuing the success of this service.