Auckland residents may need to brush up on their recycling etiquette, with new national standards to come into effect on 1 February.
Auckland Council Chair of the Planning, Environment and Parks Committee, Richard Hills, is encouraging Aucklanders to familiarise themselves with the new recycling guidelines.
“By only putting in the right recyclable items into our bins, we are helping increase the quality of materials collected for recycling, which in turn reduces disposal costs,” he said.
“We want to protect our natural environment and recycle more resources back into the economy.
“Reducing the use of single use items is the best way to reduce waste, following that, it is recycling right. This change is another important step along the path to Auckland’s goal of zero waste by 2040.”
In 2023, Auckland Council updated its website and Binny smartphone app with what could and could not go into Auckland’s kerbside recycling bins in line with the Ministry for the Environment’s new national standards.
Items accepted in kerbside recycling bin from 1 February 2024:
- Glass bottles and jars
- Paper and cardboard
- Plastic bottles, trays, and containers (grades 1, 2 and 5 only)
- Tin, steel and aluminium cans
New items excluded from 1 February 2024:
- Items less than 50mm (e.g. caps, small cosmetic and spice containers)
- Aerosol cans (steel and aluminium)
- Liquid paperboard (beverage cartons and juice boxes)
- Plastics 3, 4, 6 and 7
- Aluminium foil and trays
- All lids
- Items over 4 litres
Auckland Council collects approximately 132,000 tonnes every year from kerbside household recycling bins. The material collected is sorted and baled as paper, cardboard, aluminium cans, tin cans, glass, plastics (1, 2 and 5) and sent to facilities onshore and overseas for sale and reprocessing.
For more information on the new recycling guidelines, visit the Auckland Council website.
