Kick it to the Kerb

So you’re across most details of what plastics and metals can and can’t be recycled in Tauranga,
but some items kick off pangs of doubt every time you drop them into the yellow recycling bin?
In truth, most of us have fallen into some ‘wish-cycling’, so we decided to ask Tauranga City
Council to clarify some finer points that might be causing household debates.

Let’s start with a couple of basics you may well know. Firstly, in Tauranga, we can only recycle
plastic number 1, 2 and 5 (so it pays to keep that in mind when choosing products to buy).
Secondly, your recycling should always be clean, so be sure to so rinse out cans, bottles etc.

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Lids

As far as lids go, size does count!

Metal lids Your standard size jam jar (about 380g) has a lid big enough to recycle.
Anything smaller than this (eg beer bottle tops) can not be recycled as they are too small
and fall through the machines.

Plastic lids Milk bottle and soft drink lids are also too small for the machines to be recycled
(but see note about Precious Plastics later in this story). Larger lids, like large yoghurt and
ice cream containers, are big enough to be recycled (if number 1, 2 or 5, of course).

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Cans

Aluminium cans can be recycled, but we’ve seen some conflicting information doing the
rounds about the question, 'to squash or not to squash?' Apparently it doesn’t matter either
way here in Tauranga.

Aerosol cans are also ok to recycle, but please make sure they’re empty.

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Aluminium

Foil plates can be cleaned and recycled.

Other food-grade aluminium, such as tin foil and Easter egg wrapping, needs to be big enough to
be captured by the machines. To do this, make sure it’s clean, then screw it up into a mass about
the size of a tennis ball — this may require collecting it for a time, until you have enough to recycle.

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Paper

Paper and cardboard needs to be clean to be recycled and it’s preferred (not essential) that you remove staples, binding, cellotape or plastic envelope windows before you place in the yellow bin.

Magazines are fine to recycle, whether they're shiny or matte. Plastic-coated containers (such as
milk and juice) are a no go, as is the glossy paper wrapping around reams of photocopier paper. These products have multiple layers of materials that hinder the recycling process. Metallic
wrapping paper and cellophane is not recyclable. These fall under the soft plastic category,
which gets jammed in the machines.

Other wrapping paper that has a similar feel to magazine paper can be recycled. Pizza boxes
are ok to recycle if they have no food or oil on them (if this is the case, you probably aren’t getting
a delicious pizza, but that’s a whole other issue). For unclean boxes, you could possibly add it to
your home compost bin, if you have one.

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Our great coffee cup issue

"100% compostable, recyclable, biodegradable, made from plants..." There are a lot of different statements made on single-use coffee cups these days, but what you really need to know is this:
they can not be composted or recycled anywhere in Tauranga.

Unfortunately, cups made from plant-based material, known as PLA, are yet to be a great eco alternative. There’s no country-wide standardisation, and most have a plastic interior lining making them difficult to recycle, so they simply aren’t accepted for recycling across Aotearoa.

And as far as the compostable claims go — this requires a commercial composting station (as
a certain temperature is required to break down the cup) and Tauranga doesn’t have one. In fact, you’re hard pushed to find many across the country.

Instead, an insane amount of these cups are dumped in our landfill via the red bin (one estimate
by the Packaging Forum was 295 million each year in New Zealand), along with other products
with the commercially compostable label, like PLA plastic cups, coffee lids and courier bags.

The composting process requires oxygen that landfills don’t offer, so if and when these items
break down, they release methane, a greenhouse gas that is about 25 times more potent than
carbon dioxide.

In summary: long live reuseable cups!

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Random reminders

Batteries Household batteries can be recycled at the local transfer station, as can products such
as vaping pods and devices, and mobile phones with batteries. Soft plastics You can take your
soft plastics to the Tauranga drop off location at Countdown Bethlehem

— this includes cracker wrappers, bread, pasta and rice bags, metalicised wrappers (eg chip bags), toilet paper packaging, courier envelopes — bascially any plastic soft enough to be scrunched into
a ball. This scheme is managed by the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme (recycling.kiwi.nz). Precious Plastics There is good local news about the smaller plastic lids that can't be recycled. Envirohub
have a Precious Plastics project, which is essentially a small community recycling facility. It's collecting these lids and making them into items such as earrings, clocks and more. Collect your
lids, then take them to the drop-off point at Remaker sustainability hub (27 Spring St, Red Square, Tauranga CBD). For more information, visit: envirohub.org.nz

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Looking ahead

The Ministry for the Environment has just finished a public consultation on proposed changes
for waste collection at a national level, given our country has comparatively low rates of recycling.
A key discussion point was around introducing a Container Return Scheme that would incentivise people to return their empty beverage containers for recycling and/or refilling in exchange for a
small refundable deposit. (Kiwis stockpile, litter or send to landfill about 1.7 billion beverage containers per year!) This approach has proved successful overseas and, in fact, New Zealand had a scheme
like this until the 80s. Note, this will NOT include the dreaded single-use coffee cups.

The other main point was around improving kerbside collections across the board in Aotearoa,
so everyone would have their food scraps collected (most cities don’t offer green bins like Tauranga and consequently New Zealand has around 300 tonnes of rotting food scraps releasing methane) and everyone would have the same items collected and recycled kerbside.

In transforming New Zealand's recycling system, the government is aiming to increase the quality
and quantity of materials collected for recycling, reduce our emissions, and recycle more resources through our economy and nutrients back into our soil.

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Reality check

Recycling products is great and all, but the reality is, it should be a last option. If we use something once then chuck it in the bin — even if it’s the recycling bin — it’s still a huge waste of resources and
a massive burden on our planet. Plastic, unlike glass, can't be endlessly recycled either. The ideal is definitely the three Rs: reduce (buy less!), reuse, and then, a very distant third option, recycle.

Can you refill cleaning products or jars of dry ingredients at a local store? Can you buy in bigger
sizes to save on packaging? Can you jump online to find out how some cleaning and food products could be homemade (less money, preservatives and chemicals)?

It’s all about making small, manageable changes over time.

For more info on Tauranga’s recycling, including a comprehensive guide to what goes in each bin, and where the recycling actually goes, visit tauranga.govt.nz

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Words by Sarah Nicholson
Art direction by Christopher Duffy

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