From February 1st this year, we now have consistency in what we can place into our household council recycling bins, no matter where you live in the country. Councils have standardised the items that can be included in kerbside recycling to reduce confusion across regions.
This small but important change is expected to divert an additional 36,000 tonne (almost 30kg per household) of recyclable material from going to landfill each year.
A significant portion of landfill waste comes from people being confused with which items belong in specific bins. By making it easier to people, it improves the quality of the materials recycling facilities receive, and more can be recycled into new products.
MFE says that right now, around 16% of items put out for recycling nationwide don’t belong in the recycling bin, and 13% of household ‘waste’ would be recycled if it was put in the recycling bin instead of the rubbish bin.
By simplifying and standardising what can be recycled, it is easier for people to put items in the right bin no matter where they are in New Zealand.
So keep rinsing, squishing and recycling.
To find out more, click here: https://mfe1.cwp.govt.nz/what-you-can-do/campaigns/recycle/
