Smart company not 'ogre'

Auckland recycling and waste company Smart Environmental Ltd is "not the ogre from Auckland" and has a strong community and environmental ethos, director and shareholder Grahame Christian said yesterday.

Mr Christian said his company was the largest privately owned recycling and waste company in New Zealand and had been operating for 20 years.

It employed 250 staff, including about 12 in Queenstown; had two depots in the South Island and several more operations in the middle and upper North Island, Mr Christian said.

Economy of scale was the reason the company could offer a substantially lower tender for Wanaka recycling collections and processing.

"We are the existing [recyclables] processing contractor in Queenstown, running a contract in a competitive environment.

When the Wanaka tender came up, we bid in a competitive environment. We have the capability. From our perspective, we brought commercial capability and I don't think that is in conflict with supporting the community," he said, when contacted in Thames yesterday.

During the tender process, Wanaka Wastebusters declined invitations to work together "which we absolutely respect".

The company would send colour-sorted glass to the Auckland glass reprocessing plant, Owens Illinois, while plastics would be sold to national and international processors.

"Our theory is we get the best price ... which impacts the price we are able to offer the council.

We are a very large company and deal with very large volumes," he said.

Mr Christian said his company would create several new jobs in Wanaka and Queenstown and applications from Wastebusters staff were welcome.

Smart Environmental sponsored activities and groups in Queenstown and New Zealand, supporting tree-planting projects and was keen to develop partnerships.

The company also has a parks division which employs 70 staff.

Mr Christian is the chairman of Preserve New Chum Inc, a group that is defending New Chum beach in the Coromandel from development being led by Arrowtown developers John Darby and George Kerr.

He is also the chairman of Pare Hauraki Asset Holdings Ltd, set up to administer the $40 million proceeds of a Treaty of Waitangi fishing and aquaculture settlement.

 

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