The Waitaki District Council is looking at increasing funding to the Waitaki Resource Recovery Trust, to overcome financial difficulties being experienced with operating the Chelmer St Resource Recovery Park in Oamaru.
The trust receives a $210,000 annual grant in return for services it provides to the council. The council is proposing to increase that by $20,000 to $230,000.
While previous grants have been lump sums, the council will now specify what services payments are for.
The council also makes the Chelmer St site available at no cost to the trust. That is worth an estimated $40,000.
The council's assets manager, Neil Jorgensen, has prepared a report for the council meeting on Wednesday which recommends the grant be approved.
He said the trust had been feeling financial pressure and now needed additional funding to pay for the services provided to the council.
Breaking down the funding would focus the trust on the activities for which the council was prepared to pay on behalf of the community.
The additional $20,000 was primarily for sorting about 100 tonnes of recyclable materials coming in from transfer stations and the kerbside recycling collection.
The trust diverts waste material through the reuse shop and processes 1400 tonnes of recyclables and 400 tonnes of green waste annually.
The trust had also requested additional funding to maintain the services it was providing and to pay existing staff, Mr Jorgensen said.
While extra funding was being provided, the trust had said it was not enough for the long term.
