$359,000 to help recycle waste wood

The Government is supporting the collection and recycling of Tauranga’s untreated wood waste with a grant of $359,000, Associate Environment Minister Scott Simpson announced today.

Tauranga-based Goodwood Ltd collects untreated wood waste and recycles it to make animal bedding for the dairy industry, garden mulch, commercial motorway mulch and playground bark. A wood grinder was purchased with a $280,000 contribution from the Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund.

“There is a significant volume of wood waste deposited into local landfill in Tauranga.  An estimated 44 tonnes per week of this is untreated timber that could be recycled. The installation of the new grinder has enabled a four-fold increase in production, meaning Goodwood can now process bigger volumes of wood they are receiving that would otherwise be sent to landfill. In April they received 40 tonnes of old kiwi fruit boxes alone,” Mr Simpson said.

Goodwood had been awarded a further $79,000 to increase the efficiency of wood processing and reduce production costs, and will therefore allow Goodwood to extend wood waste collections across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato regions.

“Goodwood is looking for more wood waste reduction initiatives in the future, which will enable them to clear a greater volume of wood waste from their community.”

The Government’s Waste Minimisation Fund was established in 2009 and is funded by a levy of $10 per tonne charged on waste disposed of at landfills. Over $60 million has been awarded to more than 100 projects to date. 

Further information on the Waste Minimisation Fund is available from: www.mfe.govt.nz/issues/waste/waste-minimisation-fund/index.html.