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  • 12 February 2024
  • News

Mixed Recycling Changes

1 February was a big day in the world of household recycling.

The Government has introduced rules which will standardise recycling across the country for household collections and hopefully reduce contamination.

Note, that this doesn’t affect our commercial customers. There are no changes to your Mixed Recycling collections. We have helpful recycling resources available on our website HERE. 

For households, the rules are:

Only the following will be collected for council-managed kerbside recycling

  • Plastic bottles, trays, and containers 1, 2, and 5 If the recycling symbol on a package does not have a number, it cannot go in your kerbside bin)
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Paper and cardboard
  • Aluminium and steel tins and cans

Some councils have separate bins for materials such as glass

The following will not be accepted in commercial or household collections:

  • Aerosol cans – some transfer stations or metal recyclers will recycle these
  • Liquid paperboard (like Tetra Pak), milk, and juice cartons – some Community Recycling Centres accept these or put them in your general waste
  • Anything less than 50mm x 50mm
  • All lids must be removed and are to be disposed of in general waste
  • Soft plastics
  • Learn more about what to do with difficult-to-recycle items here

Four councils, unable to meet the deadline, have until 2027 to make changes. Clutha, Hurunui, and Westland District Councils will need to add glass to their collections, while Gore District Council needs to add paper and plastic. Eight other councils do not have kerbside collections at all and the new government has not yet decided whether those councils will be required to provide kerbside recycling by 2027.