Matamata-Piako District Council has had a long running commitment to recycling and was the second Council in New Zealand to adopt kerbside recycling.

Each refuse rated property is issued with a green MPDC recycling bin, which should be placed on the kerb, beside your rubbish bag by 7.30am. Recycling is picked up on the same day as your refuse bag. Replacement green bins can be purchased from Council for $15.

What can and can’t be recycled?

Anything marked with the recycling grades 1-7 can be collected as part of kerbside recycling. The chart below shows what can be recycled, common examples, and what the things you recycling might end up as.

Symbol	Plastic Type	Common Uses	Possible End Use
	PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate)	Soft drink and water bottles, salad domes, biscuit trays, salad dressing and peanut butter containers	Pillow and sleeping bag filling, clothing, soft drink bottles, carpet
	PE-HD (High Density Polyethylene)	shopping bags, freezer bags, milk bottles, ice cream containers, juice bottles, shampoo, detergent bottles, buckets, milk crates	Recycling bins, compost bins, buckets, detergent containers, posts, fencing, pipe
	PVC-U (Unplasticised Polyvinyl Chloride	Cosmetic containers, electrical conduit, plumbing pipes and fittings, blister packs, wall cladding, roof sheeting, bottles	Flooring, film and sheets, cables, speed bumps, packaging, binders, mud flaps and mats
	PE-LD (Low density Polyethylene	Plastic food wrap, garbage bags, squeeze bottles, black irrigation tube, black mulch film, garbage bins	Rubbish bin liners, pallet sheets
	PP (Polypropylene)	ice cream tubs, potato chip bags, straws, microwave dishes, kettles, garden furniture, lunch boxes, blue packing tape	Pegs, bins, pipes, pallet sheets, oil funnels, car battery cases, trays
	PS (Polystyrene)	CD cases, plastic cutlery, imitation 'crystal glassware', low cost brittle toys, video cases	Coat-hangers, coasters, whiteware, components, stationery trays and accessories
	Other - letters below the symbol indicate the ISO code for the plastic type	Car parts, appliance parts, computers, electronics, water cooler bottles, packaging	Car parts, concrete aggregate, plastic timber

Please note that class 6 ‘Polystyrene’ refers to a type of plastic, not the white packaging material most people know as polystyrene. This is not recyclable.

For more information contact Customer Services on 0800 746 467.