The Gore District Council will work towards reinstating a full recycling service, which has been restricted to glass since 2020.
The decision was made by councillors at a full council meeting yesterday.
Chief executive Stephen Parry said the council would enter into discussions with the Invercargill City Council to see if they could collaborate as they did before negotiations broke down two years ago.
Once that happened, costs for a potential recycling service could be calculated and a proposal could go out for public consultation.
"We may come to a point where we might want to have a different recycling offering from what perhaps is currently offered in Southland and Invercargill," he said.
The two district councils did not separate glass, "but the advice I’m getting ... is that you need to have glass separated out if you’re going to meaningfully recycle".
Cr Glenys Dickson asked if the Gore district could recycle the material itself, a suggestion supported by Cr Nick Grant.
Mr Parry said it was an option he had discussed with Niki Bould, of Ahika Consulting, who is leading the council’s Rethinking Waste project.
"It could well be that we forge our own path, but it behoves us to have the discussion, put the potential costs on the table and put it forward as an option for consideration."
Cr Neville Phillips said he would like the kerbside recycling service to cater to more areas.
"If we’re going to go down the track of our own recycling, then perhaps we should also be thinking of expanding our services to our district."
Cr Bronwyn Reid agreed, and said the council should help all residents recycle.
Mayor Tracy Hicks said servicing Waikaka and Pukerau could be considered.
"It will come with cost, but doing nothing comes with a cost and it’s only going to be an increasing cost."
Reintroducing a full kerbside recycling service was among other waste initiatives councillors agreed to aim towards. These included the establishment of a resource recovery centre, a rethink of WasteNet, that funding be sought from the Government waste levy and that a waste minimisation officer be appointed.
