Niki Bould
Senior Consultant — Sustainability & Waste Recovery
Recycling hubs for inner-city living
Combining history, art, and function to reduce waste to landfill.
We collaborated with ZealSteel to create innovative new recycling hubs for Dunedin's inner city.
Recycling can be a challenge for people living in the inner-city. There is simply not enough space for recycling bins for kerbside collection.
Surveying residents, we found that people were willing to walk a couple of blocks to drop off their recycling. To trial the idea, the Dunedin City Council gave Ahikā the job of creating two pilot recycling facilities for Vogel St and View St neighbourhoods.
The success of the facilities led to another three hubs designed and installed for Moray Place residents, university students at Clyde St, and polytechnic students at Forth St.
Working with local artists and ZealSteel - Dunedin’s most innovative metalwork manufacturer - meant we could get creative and project manage, design and build more of these facilities.
Steel housings feature beautiful laser cut designs that reflect the city’s heritage and features. Each design is specifically created to suit its location, such as garden designs for garden sites, and designs reflecting past industry at a site. Fitted with LED lighting – they are usable 24 hours a day.
We’re now working in partnership with ZealSteel to create and install a further 10 facilities within the inner city and student area.
A concept image of the Forth Sttreet recycling hub drawn by Alysha Beattie, a graphic design student at Otago Polytechnic.
