Let's Talk Rubbish
Phasing out problematic plastics
Plastic is one of our greatest environmental challenges. It regularly ends up as waste in our landfills, our moana and whenua. Difficult to recycle packaging and products can interfere with our recycling systems and are often used only once before being disposed.
Shifting away from hard-to-recycle and single-use plastics will help reduce plastic waste, improve our recycling systems and protect our environment.
From 1 October 2022 it became illegal to provide, sell or manufacture certain hard-to-recycle and single use plastic products in Aotearoa New Zealand. These are:
- Single use plastic drink stirrers
- Single use plastic cotton buds
- Plastics with pro-degradant additives (eg. some bin liners, dry cleaning bags and pet waste products)
- PVC food trays and containers used for products including meat, fresh produce or baked goods
- Polystyrene takeaway food and beverage packaging (eg. takeaway containers and cups)
- Expanded polystyrene food and beverage packaging including food serviceware and grocery products (eg. instant noodle containers).
More information can be found on the Ministry for the Environment website:
From the kerbside to recycling...or not
Why is recycling important?
As you know, recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects.
Recycling reduces the need to grow, harvest or extract new raw materials from the earth. The world’s natural resources are finite and some are in very short supply.
What are the benefits of recycling?
- To reduce harmful disruption and damage to nature;
- To reduce the demand for raw materials;
- Saving energy as recycled materials uses less energy than raw materials;
- Reducing the effects of climate changing carbon emissions
- Fewer forests cut down, rivers diverted, wild animals harmed or displaced, and less pollution of water, soil and air.
And of course if our plastic waste isn't safely put in the recycling, it can be blown or washed into rivers and sea ending up hundreds or thousands of miles away, polluting coastlines and waterways, and becoming a problem for everyone.
What happens to our recycling?
HDC has appointed Waste Management to collect the kerbside yellow lidded wheelie bins and glass crates. The content of these containers is taken to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). The MRF is situated outside Thames and is a purpose-built facility where the recycling is separated into different waste streams.
When other non-recyclable material gets into the wheelie bins this is considered contamination. When certain types of contaminated waste are tipped onto the conveyer belt for sorting, it can bring the machinery to a complete halt. The site shuts down so a thorough clean can be carried out.
Wasted New Zealand video
View the following eye-opening videos on plastics and other waste, and see what happens to it once it leaves your property. This may help you to rethink your behaviour around waste.
What is contaminated waste?
Anything put into your wheelie bin that is not suitable to recycle, is a contaminant.
We can only recycle: Rigid Plastics 1 / Rigid Plastics 2 / Rigid Plastics 5 / Tin and Cans / Cardboard and some papers. These need to be washed or have no food residue on them before they go into your recycling bin.
Small items, such as bottle lids, cannot be recycled either, due to the actual size of the product, even though they may be a No. 1, 2 or 5 plastics. They fall through the conveyor and get caught up in the machinery used to sort the recycling.
Contaminated waste in your wheelie bin could result in your recycling service being suspended for some time. (Clause 8 of Hauraki District Council Solid Waste Bylaw 2019)View the HDC Solid Waste Bylaw
What is gross contamination?
Gross contamination includes dead animals, various forms of liquids, mouldy carpets, broken electrical appliances, needles, even human waste i.e. diapers etc.
Your recycling from the wheelie bins is manually sorted by people when it reaches this facility. Once the gross contamination hits the conveyer belt, the entire facility is brought to a standstill. Gross contaminants pose a risk to humans sorting through the waste. This downtime not only costs money, but it is also a tremendous health risk to the sorters and it wastes valuable time.
Changes to collections
Waste Management has appointed an auditor who will be working in front of all side loaders. The auditor will be easily identified by his PPE and the wording 'auditor' on his clothing. The auditor is responsible to check for contamination in the yellow lidded bins. In the instance of a contaminated bin, the auditor will sticker the bin and will have a one-on-one educational talk with the occupier of the property. The property will be flagged and if contamination of the recycle bin continues, the recycling service will be revoked for a couple of months.
We would like to thank the residents who have good recycling behaviour. For the residents that do not think recycling is important, please spare a thought for the operators who have to sort through your contaminated recycling.
We all have an important role to play to ensure the safety of our fellow humans and the environment. Let’s all work together to reduce our contamination rate.
Below are some images of recycling bins that do not comply.
These bins will be flagged by our auditor as contaminated and will not be collected.
