Recycling all you can

So what's the problem?

Sixty-five percent of the average rubbish bag could be recycled or composted. Each month, New Zealanders dispose of enough rubbish to fill a rugby field 30 stories high. This means the portion of this that could be recycled or composted is around 20 stories high - that's a huge waste of space in our landfills and most of that rubbish won't break down for generations.

Stronger plastic bottles can be used to hold tools and nails etc in the shed. Simply cut 3 sides and leave one side longer and nail to the wall in the shed.

more recycling tips

What can I do about it?

In many parts of New Zealand, people are using their local recycling centres or kerbside recycling service to recycle increasing volumes of paper, plastics, glass and metals. This is reducing the amount of rubbish being dumped in our landfills and providing valuable job opportunities through the businesses involved in collecting, sorting and selling the recycled materials.

Find out how you can reduce your rubbish by reusing and recycling in the guide below.

Think about ways of reusing things before you recycle or dump them

Plastics and glass

You can wash and reuse plastic and glass containers for storage and there are many things you can do to reduce your mountain of plastic bags - check out our recycling tips for ideas.

Textiles (rags and old clothes)

Take clothes you don't want to your local opportunity shop or put them in a clothing bin. Rags are still useful so pop them in the clothing bin as well.

Furniture


		Aucklanders threw out 990,000 tonnes of rubbish in 1999. That's 842 kilograms per person and around 65 percent of it could've been recycled or composted instead.

Take old furniture to a second hand store, donate it to the local opportunity shop or take it to the recycling centre at your local landfill or transfer station.

Paint

Donate unwanted paint to community groups, marae or schools. If you can't find someone to use it up, let the paint dry out and recycle the container (check with your local council to find out if you can do this in your area) or dispose of it with your rubbish.

Check whether it can actually be recycled in your area

Cardboard, paper, glass, cans and type 1 and 2 plastics can be recycled in most areas. Check with your local council to find out what can be recycled in your area.

Glass

You may be able to put out glass if you have kerbside recycling and some landfills and transfer stations have bins for recycling glass.

Remember, you can only recycle food containers (bottles and jars) - you can't recycle light bulbs, drinking glasses, mugs, cookware or window glass.

Paper and cardboard

You should be able to put out paper and cardboard if you have kerbside recycling and most landfills and transfer stations have bins for recycling paper and cardboard.

Remember, you can't recycle paper or cardboard contaminated with food or other stuff (like pizza boxes).

Food and drink cans

You may be able to put out aluminium and steel cans if you have kerbside recycling and most landfills and transfer stations have bins for recycling cans. See the Steel Can Recycling website to find out more about steel can recycling in New Zealand.

Plastic

You may be able to put out plastics if you have kerbside recycling and most landfills and transfer stations have bins for recycling plastic.

Most areas recycle plastics type 1 and 2 and some areas take other types as well. See the plastic identification code to find out what types you've got.

Chemicals and used oil

Contact your local council to find out what services are available in your area for disposing of unwanted chemicals or used oil.

If you'd like some ideas for less toxic alternatives to use in the place of common household chemicals, check out the Auckland Regional Council's Healthy Alternatives to Household Chemicals brochure (PDF 261 KB).

Make sure the right materials go in the right recycling bin

Look on the recycling bin to see what should go in it. There may be separate bins for different coloured glass or for different plastic types.

Check with your local council to find your nearest recycling facilities.

NEXT: What happens to my recycling?