The Ministry for the Environment is bringing standardisation to residential kerbside recycling collections throughout New Zealand from today, 1 February.
Materials accepted will now be the same almost everywhere in the country, making it easier for everyone to get recycling right. The only materials accepted in the kerbside recycling bin are:
- Plastic bottles, trays and containers numbered 1, 2 and 5 (rinsed, lids removed)
- Food and drink tins and cans (rinsed)
- Paper and cardboard (including pizza boxes, remove food scraps)
Meat trays with a 1, 2 or 5 in a triangle are also recyclable, rinse and remove any film or glad wrap first.
There is one minor changes to what South Taranaki residents can put in their kerbside recycling bins - aerosol cans are no longer recyclable, put these in the red lidded bin instead.
Glass recycling remains the same, with clean glass bottles and jars accepted, just remember to remove the lids.
All of Taranaki’s recycling is processed at the Materials Recovery Facility in New Plymouth. From there, the different material streams are sent around the North
Island to be turned into new products. No recycling is sent overseas.
In the voluntary greenwaste collection, keep putting in the prunings from your garden (branches up to 10cm diameter) lawn clippings, garden waste and leaves – but no flax, yucca or cabbage tree leaves. The previously accepted organic material of tea bags, paper towels, serviettes, shredded paper and pizza boxes are now no longer accepted due to these being made with chemicals which contaminates the compost being made and then accumulates in the soil, ending up in the food chain.
Collecting the same recyclable materials at the kerbside makes it easier for everyone to understand what items can go in the recycling bin, no matter where they are in the country.
