Praneeta Mahajan
Hamilton, February 1, 2024
From today, February 1, 2024, everyone in New Zealand will have to follow identical guidelines for what items can and cannot be placed in their kerbside recycling bins.
Previously, regions had different rules for what was accepted in local council collections. The new rules are intended to make recycling easier for everyone and reduce the amount of contaminated items in recycling bins.
Collecting the same recycling items throughout the country will provide clarity over what can be recycled at home, which means less contaminants found in bins, and less waste going to landfill.
Hamilton City Council’s Sustainable Resource Recovery Unit Director Tania Hermann encourages consumers to be mindful of what they are purchasing before they reach the stage of recycling.
“It is not only about recycling right but being aware of what you are buying when you are at the supermarket. Choosing a plastic that is accepted in the kerbside recycling bin means it can be remade into another item, and used time and time again,” said Ms Hermann.
The principles of reducing and reusing items help promote the Ministry for the Environment’s long-term vision of becoming a circular economy.
“Little changes we can make such as bringing a keep cup with you when you are getting coffee, using your own container for takeaways, and choosing refillable options, have a big impact in keeping waste out of the landfill,” said Ms Hermann.
Why the change
According to the Ministry of Environment, “Currently we generate more than 17 million tonnes of waste each year. We send almost 13 million tonnes of that to landfill. Food scraps make up 22% of landfill emissions.”
“Of the materials households place out in kerbside bins and bags, two-thirds are placed out as rubbish and sent to landfill. In some countries, two-thirds are placed out as recycling and only one-third is sent to landfills.”
A statement by the Ministry states that a transformed recycling and food scrap system in New Zealand will increase the quality and quantity of materials collected for recycling and also help reduce the amount of recycling and food scraps sent to landfills as rubbish, helping reduce the disposal costs, cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and help recycle more resources through our economy and put more nutrients back into our soil.
By 2030, the Ministry of Environment aims for at least 50% of household waste to go into recycling and food scrap bins rather than end up in landfills.
Standardising the materials collected across the country will also improve the clarity and effectiveness of kerbside collections. This will reduce confusion about what can and cannot be recycled at the kerbside and rebuild public trust in our recycling systems.
What the changes mean
Hamilton City Council is asking residents to only put the following items in their yellow-lidded recycling bins:
- Glass bottles and jars
- Paper and cardboard
- Plastic bottles, trays, and containers (grades 1, 2 and 5 only)
- Food tins
- Drink cans
This means the Council will no longer collect plastics 3, 4, 6, or 7 from kerbside recycling bins.
Lids are too small to be recycled successfully. However, if they are joined to container bottoms (such as some cherry tomato containers), they can be left open in the recycling bin.
Steel-can lids that are still attached can also be recycled. If the lid is not attached, it must be securely enclosed inside the can with the top of the can squeezed shut. Containers must be empty and rinsed if they are dirty.
Examples of what you can recycle:
- Soft drink, juice, water, and milk bottles (usually made from plastics numbered 1)
- Bathroom and laundry product bottles (usually made from plastics numbered 2)
- Large yoghurt and ice cream tubs, margarine/butter tubs (usually made from plastics numbered 5)
- Some pharmaceutical, cosmetics, sauce, and refillable bottles (usually made from plastics numbered 5)
- Fruit punnets and meat trays (usually made from plastics numbered 1)
- Clean drink cans and food tins
- Paper and cardboard including pizza boxes (food scraps removed).
Examples of what you can not recycle:
- Tissues and paper towels (these usually have food scraps or cleaning chemical residue)
- takeaway coffee cups, drink cartons, shiny gift wrap (these items can include other materials like plastic or metal)
- Soft plastics (any plastics that can be scrunched into a ball). Check out the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme for a store locator to recycle these plastics
- Compostable packaging and containers
- Nappies and sanitary products
- Fabric and clothing
- Aerosols, pots, pans, and foil (and items you normally find in a garage or garden that contain chemicals). Many garden stores also operate drop-off recycling schemes for plant pots for the customers and can be useful for households.
Fight the landfill
There are real benefits to minimising the amount of material going to landfill. Landfill space is becoming a real premium up and down the country, so anything people can do to minimise the material going into landfills is a good thing for the country.
According to the Ministry for the Environment, standardising recycling means an extra 36,000 tonnes of waste will be recycled each year – so long as Kiwis follow the advice.
The new standards were supposed to be nationwide but some councils lack the infrastructure to handle the changes. Clutha, Hurunui, Westland and Gore District Councils have until 2027 to get up to speed.
Praneeta Mahajan is an Indian Newslink reporter based in Hamilton.
