Dunedin company ZealSteel has been contracted to design and install two neighbourhood recycling drop-off facilities, which will be trialled over coming months.
Dunedin City Council solid waste manager Catherine Irvine said residents of stand-alone houses, apartments and multi-tenanted buildings in the CBD did not have access to a weekly kerbside recycling service.
Facilities would be built in Moray Pl next to the parking building at the bottom of View St, and in Vogel St under the Cumberland St overbridge.
"This is a great opportunity for them to be able to do the right thing and deposit their recyclables in a convenient way."
Many residents lived on the upper floors of buildings with no off-street service available for the collection of recycling, she said.
"This is an alternative solution that is easy to access and won’t clutter our busy central streets."
Residents within two blocks of the recycling facilities would be given a free bag to carry their recyclables to the drop-off point, Ms Irvine said.
While illegal dumping at the sites was a concern, the CBD communities were taking ownership of the recycling stations and would be keeping a close eye on them, she said.
"I’ve got a sense from talking to businesses and residents that there’s a real willingness to work with us to make this thing happen.
"So if anybody tries to dump rubbish down there, they could potentially be approached by someone saying ‘hey, this is our facility’."
Work on the Moray Pl site was about to begin and the facility would be officially launched later this month.
The Vogel St facility would be installed later this year.
ZealSteel has been contracted to design and install the facilities, at a cost of $90,000.
About $60,000 of that funding had come from a waste levy grant, not from rates, Ms Irvine said.
"Each site will be trialled for 12 months, during which time feedback will be sought from residents using the facilities."
Infrastructure services and networks committee chairwoman Cr Kate Wilson said inner-city living had become more popular and was encouraged by the council, but it was time it received the infrastructure support other parts of the city enjoyed.
"It is even more positive that this focuses on recycling and waste minimisation," she said.
