Smart recycling for Wellingtonians

Whether you're new to recycling, a seasoned pro or a family teaching good habits, these tips are for you. We especially want to help those who have recently moved to Wellington and might be used to different recycling schemes. Our goal is to make recycling straightforward and effective for all residents, ensuring we contribute positively to our city's sustainability.

Transform your recycling habits

Based on advice from waste management experts, we hope these tips help you shift from "wish-cycling" to intentional recycling. This means being mindful of what you place in the bin, leading to cleaner, more efficient recycling streams. Here are the key changes to make:

1. Stop "wish-cycling" (rethink the bin)

  • When in doubt, throw it out: Do not put items in the recycling bin hoping they will be recycled, as this causes contamination.
  • Check recycling: Plastics labelled 1, 2 and 5 are always accepted, same as clean paper, cardboard and glass
  • Remove non-recyclables: Keep items like soft plastics (wrappers/bags), Styrofoam, clothing and toys out of the recycling bin.
  • Take lids off: Remove plastic lids from bottles and jars, as they can fall through sorting machines or are made of different, unrecyclable plastic.
  • Don’t squash plastic, tins and cans – squashing makes them harder for the machine to sort.
  • Use separate glass bins: Use designated crates for glass bottles and jars to avoid breaking them among other recyclables.

2. Clean and dry

  • Rinse containers: A quick rinse (using leftover dishwater) is essential. Food residue contaminates materials, making them unusable. 
  • Pizza Boxes: How clean does a pizza box has to be?

3. Keep It Loose (No Bags)

  • Do not bag recyclables: Place items lose in your recycle bin. You don't need to bag recyclables.
  • Flatten cardboard: Flatten all cardboard boxes to save space in the truck.

4. Separate Specific Items

  • Drop off soft plastics: Take items like grocery bags, bread bags, and courier bags to specialised supermarket drop-off points for recycling, check locations here
  • Drop off caps and lids: There are many drop off locations for caps and lids at supermarkets and community recycling centres, check locations here

By implementing these changes, residents can ensure more recycling gets recovered, reducing the amount of contamination sent to landfill, and ensure that materials are effectively processed.

Know your plastics: 1, 2 and 5

The most crucial tip for Wellingtonians is to recycle plastics numbered 1, 2 and 5. Make sure these items are empty, clean and all lids are removed.

Paper
and cardboard

  • newspapers and magazines
  • egg cartons
  • office paper and envelopes
  • cereal boxes
  • cardboard boxes, including pizza boxes (but remove pizza scraps and cheese residue)
  • brown corrugated cardboard
  • books (remove plastic cover)

Note: It can't be recycled if it is waxed or foil-backed, has plastic or food on it, or if it is smaller than a postcard.

Metals - tins and cans

Clean and not squashed

  • aluminium drinking cans
  • food tins
  • pet food tins

Glass

Clear and coloured food and beverage glass bottles and jars - clean and lids removed.

Check out Wellington City Council's rubbish and recycling guidelines here

Soft Plastics in the Wellington region

Wellington residents can take their soft plastic packaging to participating New World, Woolworths and The Warehouse stores for recycling.

Earthlink, a community enterprise based in Lower Hutt, collects the packaging. It provides employment opportunities for people facing barriers to work, including mental health challenges and addiction, supporting both our community and the environment.

The soft plastics then travel to Future Post to supply them with soft plastic materials which are blended with other plastics to manufacture plastic fence posts, vegetable gardens and parking bumpers here in Aotearoa.

A regional effort that gives soft plastics a new purpose!

Check out the store locator for dropping off your soft plastics here

 

Find more information here packagingforum.org.nz

Recycling Caps & Lids in New Zealand

Did you know that many plastic and metal caps and lids can be recycled in New Zealand through a special recycling scheme?

Caps and lids are often too small to go into our regular kerbside recycling, but that doesn’t mean they have to go to landfill! The Caps & Lids Recycling Scheme provides special collection points where they can be dropped off for recycling.

Simply collect your caps and lids, make sure they are clean and dry and separate them into plastic and metal before placing them in the correct collection box.

It’s another small everyday action that can help us reduce waste and keep valuable materials in use for longer🌏💚

There are many collection points all over Wellington, check out more info here

Batteries

Batteries aren’t recyclable in your kerbside bin or bag 

They also can’t go into your rubbish because they can cause fires in the landfill and contain harmful chemicals, which can leach into soil and waterways. Instead, you can drop them off for free at one of the eight city-wide locations:

  • Island Bay Community Centre 
  • Karori Library
  • Kilbirnie Library 
  • Newlands Community Centre
  • Tawa Community Centre
  • Te Matapihi ki te Ao Nui Central Library (CBD)
  • Te Aro Zero Waste (CBD)
  • Tip Shop at the Southern Landfill
  • Bunnings Lyall Bay (tape your batteries before dropping them off)

More info...