New recycling centre can handle three times as many customers

mbl.is reports that Sorpa’s new recycling centre on Lambhagavegur will open on September 1, replacing the facility on Sævarhöfði. The new centre cost about 1.5 billion Icelandic krónur to build.

The Sævarhöfði centre will operate for the last time on August 30. Sorpa staff will use August 31 to move equipment before opening the new facility the following day.

The Sævarhöfði centre has faced heavy demand, particularly after the number of recycling categories was reduced at facilities in Jafnasel and Dalvegur. Visitor numbers rose from about 800 cars at peak times to nearly 1,000 this summer.

“The centre cannot handle that many visits,” said Gunnar Dofri Ólafsson, director of Sorpa’s customer service and communications division. He said visitors had sometimes faced one queue to enter the centre and another once inside.

The Lambhagavegur facility has three entrance gates and will theoretically be able to handle three times as many cars as the old centre. Capacity will increase from 130 cars per hour to 390.

The centre is built on two levels, with the containers one level below the visitors. This separates the movement of large vehicles replacing containers from general traffic and allows full containers to be replaced continuously without closing spaces.

Visitors can choose between three lanes depending on the purpose of their visit. Part of the facility is covered, with five designated spaces for different recycling categories and a further five spaces outside the shelter. The building will also accept electrical equipment and hazardous materials, and will include a branch of Góði hirðirinn, where doors, windows, paving slabs and other items will be sold. Endurvinnslan will open a collection point for bottles and cans.

Ólafsson said the shelter would make the facility less dependent on the weather. He expects the centre to serve nearby neighbourhoods including Grafarvogur, Árbær, Norðlingaholt and Úlfarsárdalur, and possibly attract visitors from Mosfellsbær.

He said similar facilities had worked well in Denmark and Sweden, while such infrastructure was not known in Iceland.