We’ve all been there – standing over the green or yellow wheelie bin, staring at a plastic wrapper and a milk bottle, wondering: “Does this actually go in here, or am I just ‘wish-cycling’?”
In Aotearoa, we love our backyard, but our recycling habits haven’t always been consistent. Recently, New Zealand moved to standardised recycling rules, meaning no matter if you’re in Auckland or Invercargill, the rules are now the same.
Here’s how to tell your Hard plastics from your Soft plastics so we can keep New Zealand beautiful.
Hard Plastics (The “Big Three”)
Hard plastics are rigid – they hold their shape. In New Zealand, the focus is now strictly on high-quality plastics that can be actually turned into new products here or overseas.
- Look for the Numbers: We only want numbers 1,2, and 5.
- 1 (PET): Water and soft drink bottles.
- 2 (HDPE): Milk bottles, juice containers and shampoo bottles.
- 5 (PP): Margarine tubs, ice cream containers and some takeaway tubs.
- The Rule: These CAN go in your kerbside recycling bin.
- The Prep: Pop the lids off (most councils can’t process them) and give them a quick rinse. If it’s dirty, it’s rubbish!
Soft Plastics (The “Scrunchy” Stuff)
Soft plastics are anything you can scrunch up in your hand. Even though they have a “recycle” symbol on them sometimes, they are the “villains” of our kerbside sorting machines.
Common Examples: Bread bags, bubble wrap, chip packets (the ones with the silver lining), an courier bags.
The Rule: These CANNOT go in your kerbside bin. They get tangled in the sorting rotors and shut down the whole plant.
Where do they go? Look for the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme bins at your local Countdown (Woolworths), New World, or Pak’nSave.
The “Scrunch Test” 101
If you’re ever unsure, use the Scrunch Test:
- Scrunch it: Try to bunch the plastic into a ball in your palm.
- The Result: If it stays scrunched or easily folds, it’s Soft. If it springs back or resists your hand, it’s Hard.
Why the Change?
By sticking to the “Big Three” (1,2, and 5) and keeping soft plastics out of our bins, we ensure that what we collect actually gets recycled. It reduces the amount of “contaminated” loads that end up in the landfill.
Let’s do our bit for the planet. Sort it right, rinse it out, and keep our recycling clean.
Don’t waste your options – make them count.