The Ministry for the Environment is making it easier to recycle no matter where you are in Aotearoa New Zealand by standardising kerbside recycling across the country from 1 February 2024.

The campaign streamlines recycling practice by ensuring that all councils across Aotearoa New Zealand accept the same standard set of materials in their household collections.

“Standardising kerbside collection at a national level will help reduce confusion about what can and cannot be recycled at the kerbside. This will improve the quality and quantity of the materials collected for reprocessing in local and international markets,” says Kath Buttar, Queenstown Lakes District Council Senior Sustainability Advisor.

“The changes will also give businesses more clarity around the packaging materials that will be accepted for recycling throughout the country. This can inform design and packaging decisions for the products that they make or sell.”

Queenstown Lakes District is well ahead of the change, already accepting most items on the standardised list of recyclables.

There’s just one small change for the district, from 1 February more plastics marked can go in the yellow mixed recycling, including meat trays, punnets and coloured bottles (like L&P). Pizza boxes free from grease and food can also go in the yellow bin.

From 1 February, you can recycle the following items in your yellow mixed recycling bin:

· Clean plastic bottles, trays and containers marked , and

· Clean aluminium and steel cans

· Clean paper and cardboard

Keep using your red rubbish bin for soft plastics, coffee cups, drink cartons, lids, plastics or , and plastic or foil lined paper and cardboard.

There is no change to glass recycling. Only clean glass bottles and jars used for food and drink go in your blue glass recycling bin. Lids and all other glass, including drinking glasses and ceramics, go in your red rubbish bin.

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