The only things that should go into your wheelie bin are cans, paper/cardboard, and plastics stamped with a 1 or 2. Everything else needs to go in your pink council bag.

While people get used to this change, we’ll have waste auditors around town checking that people are recycling correctly before their bins are emptied. Bins with plastics 3-7 or other non-recyclables will not be emptied.

Why are we making this change?
Clean plastic grades 1 and 2 can be recycled here in New Zealand and repurposed, which means less plastic is going back into the environment.

Historically there has been an overseas demand for plastic grades 3-7. However the demand collapsed after China (who buys 50 percent of the world’s recycling), no longer accepted the quantity of material they used to. Many New Zealand sorting centres, including Kopu, were stockpiling grades 3-7 in the hopes the market would re-open, but this has never eventuated. Without an overseas buyer it is no longer practical or cost effective to collect or stockpile these plastics.

Is it still worthwhile recycling?
Absolutely, and we encourage you to recycle clean all plastic grades 1-2 as much as you can to ensure these fully recyclable items do not end up in landfill or polluting waterways (please rinse clean until all food and liquid residue is completely gone). 

What are plastic grades 1-2?
Drink and sports bottles, water bottles, milk bottles, cleaning products and personal care bottles (shampoo, conditioner and body wash). All of these must have their lids removed and be rinsed clean – if you can’t get the lid off to rinse the bottle clean or you don't want to clean it, please don’t recycle it as this may contaminate the truck load it is collected with and cause the whole truck load of recycling (even the correct recycling) to go to landfill.  

How can I tell what number each plastic is?
The majority of plastic has a triangle with a number on the bottom of it. If plastic has a number but no triangle, or vice versa, it is not recyclable. If in doubt about the type of plastic (the triangle is too small to read, or has a triangle with no number), please put it into the rubbish.  

What are plastics 3-7? 

Grade 3

PVC is typically used in toys, blister wrap, cling wrap, detergent bottles, loose-leaf binders, blood bags and medical tubing. 

Grade 4

Mostly used for bags or soft plastics (grocery, dry cleaning, bread, frozen food bags, rice or pasta packets, soiled newspapers (such as with oil from fish and chips), plastic wraps, tetra packs (what most plant based or long life milks or juice come in), hot and cold beverage cups; some squeezable bottles, food storage containers and container lids. Grade 4 plastic is also used for wire and cable covering.

Grade 5 

Used widely for hot food containers.

Grade 6 

Polystyrene is the Styrofoam commonly used for food containers, some egg cartons, disposable cups/bowls and packaging.

Grade 7 - Other

All plastics other than those identified by number 1-6 and also plastics that may be layered or mixed with other types of plastics.

Can I still put plastics grades 3-7 into my recycling bin?
No, all this recycling will now be considered contaminated and end up in landfill. We know it’s hard to put these into the rubbish bin when you’ve been able to recycle them up until now, but the reality is, these can’t be recycled – they just go to landfill.

Please don’t ‘wishcyle’ and place plastic grades 3-7 into your recycling bin because you wish it could be recycled, or in the hope it might get recycled. It won’t be.

How will the contractor know if I am recycling properly?
Smart Environmental, our rubbish and recycling contractors, will be auditing wheelie bins. If your bin contains anything except clean plastic grades 1-2, paper and cardboard or clean tins, it will get a red ticket and will not be collected by contractors until it is once again compliant.

What happens if my wheelie bin isn’t compliant?
It will get a red ticket attached to it and won’t be collected until it is once again compliant.

Why aren’t we recycling grade 5?
Our contract with Smart Environment is for plastic grades 1-2 only, so they will only accept these grades. There is a manufacturer in Southland recycling plastic grades 5, however it is not cost effective to send it all there and no guarantee they can keep up with demand or that it won’t end up in landfill.

Will I get a rates reduction?
No, your rubbish and recycling is still being collected, sorted and recycled. We will still get a bill from the contractors for this service, and we still have to pay it.

Can I still recycle plastic grades 3-7 at transfer stations?
No, as the transfer stations are also under the Smart Environmental contract, plastic grades 3-7 will not be accepted and should go in your Council rubbish bag.

What do I do with plastic grades 3-7 now?
All plastic grades 3-7 will now need to go into your black Council bag for collection.

How can I reduce my household rubbish and avoid buying plastic that can’t be recycled?
Recyling isn’t the only answer to reducing household waste. The best approach is to follow the waste hierarchy:

• Refuse: simply don’t buy it and research sustainable alternatives
• Reduce: minimise the amount you buy
• Reuse: choose products you can use again and again (make your own yoghurt instead of individual yoghurt pottles and put a serving size in a reusable container – add frozen berries to keep cool in lunchboxes)
• Recycle: reprocess to produce new products
• Compost: Place organic waste into a compost bin for the vegetable garden, add to a worm farm or have organic waste collected by a green waste company

Will the size of the rubbish bags be increased to cope with the extra rubbish?
No, this would increase costs, which would in turn increase rates. The cost of rubbish bags is what pays for their collection from the kerbisde and transfer stations, we don't make any money from rubbish or recycling collection – so the best way to minimise these costs for your household is to minimise your rubbish. 

What are other Councils doing?
We share the Smart Environmental contract with Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel District Councils, so they are also only accepting plastic grades 1-2. Waipa District Council have also recently made this change, as have many other Councils around the country (like Gisborne, Queenstown, South Waikato, Porirua, Napier, Nelson, and more).

What changes are Council making to reduce their rubbish?
We know we need to lead by example.

• We recently had a waste audit conducted at our main Council offices and are waiting for their recommendations on how we can reduce rubbish.
• Our Councillors have gone paperless. Our boardroom is now digital, gone are the days of paper agendas and minutes. Council departments are also following suit and reducing or eliminating all paper, instead using digital options wherever possible.
• Our Digital Strategy is all about making our business smarter, and making it easier for you to do business with us.
• We help fund Enviroschools, teaching sustainability to our tamariki
• We have a Solid Waste Working party who oversee the solid waste contract and is actively looking for ways our communities can reduce waste heading for landfill and ensure our Transfer Stations are working to their greatest potential, making that experience easy for all its users and as environmentally friendly as possible.
• We have been working through a review of our Joint Waste Minimisation and Management Plan with Hauraki and Thames-Coromandel District Councils. The Plan aims to encourage people to minimise household rubbish and become more sustainable. Following on from this work, we need to agree on our district’s approach to waste minimisation as part of our plans for the next 10 years, which took effect from 1 July 2018.