#5 plastics join Kerbside Collective crew

Western Bay’s Kerbside Collective crew just got bigger with #5 plastics now being accepted.

Ice cream containers, margarine tubs and yoghurt containers are some of the common household items that can now be added to yellow lid recycling bins as part of Western Bay of Plenty District Council’s kerbside rubbish and recycling service.

Council’s Deputy CEO and Group Manager Infrastructure Services, Gary Allis says the addition of #5 plastics is welcome news given the number of everyday items and products #5 plastics covers.

Previously only #1 and #2 plastic bottles and containers along with flattened cardboard, paper, egg cartons, tins and cans were accepted.

Gary says the addition of #5 plastics to the Kerbside Collective team comes after confirmation of a long-term sustainable market for the recycling of plastic grade 5, also known as polypropylene (PP).

“Council took a cautious approach when implementing the district-wide service by not accepting #5 plastics at the outset, as we had not secured a market for these types of recyclables yet. We did not want to start providing a service only for it to be stopped and seeing it end up in landfill.

“The first six months of the service has allowed us to test the capacity of the collection service and ensure we can add #5 plastics without disrupting the service.”

The rates-funded recycling service, implemented on 1 July 2021, is designed to increase the amount of material diverted from landfill by about 60 percent – around 1800 tonnes a year. On average each household District-wide produces about 640kg of waste per year, 380kg of this could be recycled.

In the first six months 1546 tonnes of material has been diverted from landfill; glass (639 tonnes), recycling (609 tonnes) and food waste (298 tonnes).

Gary says, “Our residents have shown they are right behind this collective waste minimisation effort and taking #5 plastics will only lift our waste diversion levels even higher.

“And remember to wash your items before you recycle. Everything you put out for recycling is hand sorted, so why put your dirty items in your recycling for someone else to deal with?”

Council’s recycling and greenwaste centres across the District will also be accepting approved #5 plastic products.

To see what plastic grade your item is check the recycling triangle at the bottom of your packaging to find the recycling number. If there is no number or you’re unsure if it can be recycled, please place in your red lid rubbish bin if no other re-use option is available.

For more information visit kerbsidecollective.co.nz. If you’re unsure what item goes in which bin try our item search function - https://kerbsidecollective.co.nz/item-search/

Top five #5 plastics that are now accepted:

• Ice cream containers
• Yoghurt containers
• Margarine tubs
• Jam and honey containers
• Dips and hummus tubs