The project team aimed to reuse as much of the building material as possible. Paterson estimated about half of the material would be reused to finish the reinstated cathedral, but much of the rubble inside would be too damaged. Christchurch consultancy Soil Matters, which turns waste products from the dairy industry into fertiliser, was approached last year with the idea of potentially recycling the tonnes of pigeon droppings and broken limestone into something useful.
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A Christchurch company had plans to recycle the pigeon droppings and limestone to turn into agricultural fertiliser. General manager Rik Mulder said his team came up with the idea last June to recycle nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorous and calcium containedin the pigeon droppings and limestone, once they had been tested and deemed safe.