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Historic watering hole leads way

Historic watering hole leads way on glass recycling

A Hobart pub is trialling the latest in glass recycling technology by installing a glass crushing machine.

Knopwoods Retreat is using the BottleCycler glass crushing machine to recycle their glass bottles.

The Minister for Environment, Parks, Heritage and the Arts, Michelle O’Byrne, said the machine sits behind the bar and effectively crushes glass bottles to an optimum size for recycling.

“Many older hotels and pubs are not equipped to store and dispose of large quantities of empty glass bottles,” Ms O’Byrne said.

“It is fantastic to see such an important step being made in the area of glass recycling.”

“Tasmanians want a clean and healthy environment and all of us would like to see less litter and better recovery of valuable recyclable materials.”

Knopwoods is trialling the BottleCycler machine for six months with funding from the Packaging Stewardship Forum (PSF) of the Australian Food and Grocery Council.

Similar trials are underway in New South Wales and Victoria.

The PSF says the trials interstate, funded in partnership with the National Packaging Covenant, have been successful, with an average of 70 per cent

of venues taking the service on permanently.

The owner of Knopwoods Retreat, Kate Duffy, says sustainability is an important priority for her business.

“It’s not only helping us become more sustainable, but it is saving us on a number of occupational health and safety issues such as heavy lifting, over crowding and handling of glass,” Ms Duffy said.

The trial at Knopwoods Retreat is due to be completed by December. If successful it’s hoped pubs and clubs throughout Hobart will also follow suit.

Glass from the Knopwoods trial will be collected by Veolia Environmental Services and stockpiled ahead of the construction of a new recycling plant.

The glass will be used for a range of markets, including ready-mixed concrete, road base and asphalt production.