Marlborough recycling no longer going to landfill as staff vacancies filled

Marlborough’s waste contractor is back to being fully staffed, which means the region’s recycling is less likely to go to landfill.

The Marlborough District Council’s waste contractor, Metallic Sweeping, had been struggling to staff a full team and had even gone as far as looking overseas to recruit workers.

The council confirmed in a statement on Tuesday that the “winter ills” on waste collection was at an end.

Solid waste manager Mark Lucas said there had been challenges for Metallic Sweeping in the past months, who had been operating on reduced staff due to sickness and skills shortages.

“This has unfortunately resulted in recycling on some occasions being put in with general refuse towards the end of a run,” Lucas said.

The contractor had confirmed they now had five drivers and 11 sorters, and systems were in place to avoid recycling going to landfill in the future, he said.
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“There is the potential on some days, because of staff sickness, this could still occur, but we expect it will be a rarity,” he said.

“Metallic Sweeping also have new drivers due to arrive from overseas to shore up their staff capacity, so we anticipate these collection issues are now at an end.”

In June, Envirohub Marlborough expressed its “concern and disappointment” with the situation, and the “potential knock-on effect it may have on public trust and compliance with the recycling system”.

“To see our communities’ recycling efforts wasted is extremely disappointing ... This lack of communication takes away the opportunity for residents to make an informed choice on how to dispose of their recyclables,” Envirohub general manager Ailie Suzuki said.

At the time, then solid waste manager Dr Alec McNeil estimated about 10% of Marlborough’s kerbside recycling had been sent to landfill since November last year, or about 120 to 150 tonnes.

“We're not happy with the situation either, but we're trying to work our way through it and remedy it, the contractor continues to try and solve these employment challenges,” he said.

“There are step-in rights, there are contract remedies ... and they can be put into action at a time if you feel that's appropriate, but there's then a practical reality of who would be that replacement contractor who can do the work.”

The Marlborough District Council had plans to roll out wheelie bins from July 2024. Metallic Sweeping was not successful in getting that contract.

Under the new wheelie bin service, rubbish and recycling would be collected on different weeks.

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