With reference to a news article in the daily newspaper concerning bad recycling ending up in landfills, reported January 4, 2024.

Tauranga City Council partly should own up to the fact that they in the beginning changed the rubbish recycling procedure themselves by not allowing thousands of home owners to have a choice of a recycling procedure.

This, in turn, killed some businesses and upset many people who were having to struggle to pay the extra on their rates. Many like myself have been recycling paper, cardboard, glass and cans many years and still do directly to the nearest TCC station.

My concern is TCC should have thought of some way to encourage recycling instead of simply ordering a compulsory change without a referendum.

Perhaps TCC could send someone over to Australia to see where recycling is automated? This has people actually being paid at their local recycling centre for bringing in their recyclable rubbish.

-James Newman, Mount Maunganui.

Council sustainability and waste manager Dan Smith responds:

Our kerbside collection services were introduced with the aim of halving the amount of household waste sent to landfill by 2028. The new service makes reducing waste easier, more accessible, and more affordable for our residents and is aligned with the government’s goal of reducing kerbside waste.

All clean recyclables put into our kerbside recycling bins are recycled (i.e., clean plastic food or drink containers with a number 1, 2 or 5 on them, cardboard and paper and food and drink cans). Currently, this is close to 80 per cent of everything that’s going into our kerbside recycling bins here in Tauranga. However, just over 20 per cent of the contents of our kerbside recycling bins are dirty recyclables, or non-recyclables (like nappies, tissues, soft plastics etc.) mistakenly put into our kerbside recycling bins (instead of kerbside rubbish bins). These can’t be recycled and end up in landfill instead. 

It’s similar around New Zealand according to a recent story by Fair Go. To reduce the number of non-recyclables ending up in our kerbside recycling bins, the Ministry for the Environment is ensuring all councils will only accept the same items for recycling nationwide (which will be in line with what we already collect for recycling here in Tauranga). This will reduce confusion about what can be recycled, as well as the number of non-recyclables that end up in kerbside recycling bins across New Zealand. 

We can help here in Tauranga by ensuring we remove any lids and remaining food or drink from our recyclables, plus put any soft plastics (like bread bags, chip packets, biscuit wrappers – any plastics you can scrunch up in your hands) into our kerbside rubbish bins as they cannot be recycled through our kerbside service. Or alternatively, take any soft plastics to a collection point at participating supermarkets and The Warehouse stores across Tauranga for recycling. 

We can also ensure any food and beverage cartons (e.g., Tetrapaks) commonly used for yoghurt or alternatives to dairy milk are put into our kerbside rubbish bins. Or, they can be cut open and made flat, rinsed clean and taken to Te Maunga Transfer Station to be recycled through our new recycling service available there.