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hard news
Funding to reduce building and demo waste
The Government has announced funding for projects in Auckland and the lower North Island to help reduce the significant amounts of construction and demolition waste going into landfill.
Auckland-based Waste Revolution will receive $1.1 million funding to create
a commercial resource and recovery centre to sort and store waste materials from the construction, demolition and commercial industries which will then be sold to the construction industry and wider public
Further south, Central Environmental will receive $750,000 to set up a construction and demolition waste processing facility in Feilding where materials, including concrete, native timber and building materials will be recycled and reused.
The new facility will be able to process 80,000 tonnes a year and will service the Manawatu/South Taranaki and Northern Wellington region.
With over 50% of waste disposed
to landfill coming from construction and demolition (approximately 32,000 tonnes a year), Porirua City Council
is getting $164,250 to determine
the feasibility of a construction and demolition recycling facility.
These initiatives are funded through the Waste Minimisation Fund’s 2020 round, administered by the Environment Ministry.
Applications for the 2021 Waste Minimisation funding round are being considered. The 2021 round continues a focus on construction and demolition waste as well as organic waste.
https://environment.govt.nz/
NZ plasterboard market “unsustainable” for USG Boral
THE INDUSTRY’S OTHER big news from late July was that USG Boral would be exiting the New Zealand plasterboard market by the end of the year.
Tony Charnock, USG Boral Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand says of the news: “The withdrawal from New Zealand is highly regrettable and, despite the obvious capabilities that USG Boral brings to the market, we have been unable to build a sustainable business locally after nearly four years of presence.”
Country manager, Nick Youngman, adds: “We are proud of what the USG Boral team has achieved in New Zealand, including supply to several iconic projects, such as Christchurch Hospital, Westfield Newmarket and Pacifica Tower.
“We brought a range of innovative systems and building practices to the market in the short time that we have
been operating.
“I would like to thank those customers
with whom we collaborated and were motivated to support us. We will honour all existing purchase orders as we exit the market.”
USG Boral supplies plasterboard, cornice, compounds and other related building products to both the residential and commercial building sectors.
RONDO metal products, a company partially owned by USG Boral, is unaffected by this announcement
and its products will continue to be available through its other New Zealand distributors.
USG Boral will cease to operate in New Zealand on 15 November 2021 and all 45 local employees are being supported with outplacement services.
www.usgboral.com
Site Safe scholarships close soon!
EVERY YEAR, SITE Safe supports the construction health & safety leaders
of tomorrow by awarding scholarships towards the completion of their Health & Safety in Construction programme.
The scholarship programme has been running since 2016 and has seen many successful students progress to become health & safety leaders within the construction industry.
With five categories open for entrants, Site Safe’s aim is to encourage active participation in health and
safety in construction across a broad demographic. The categories are: Under 25 Years Old; Māori; Pasifika; Women in Construction; and Open.
The numbers of scholarships awarded each year varies, with a record 62 scholarships distributed in 2020 across the five categories.
Applications for scholarships are currently open, and close at 5pm, 31 August.
www.sitesafe.org.nz/training/ scholarships/
8 NZHJ | AUGUST 2021
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