Wheelie bin spot checks starting back up again

Spot checks of yellow wheelie bins will restart next week in a bid to ensure people are putting in the correct items for recycling.

Gold stars will be put on the recycling bins that contain the right items, said says Christchurch City Council resource recovery manager Ross Trotter.

Information on what materials are accepted for recycling will be supplied to households that have the wrong items in their bins. Yellow wheelie bins that contain general rubbish will not be emptied and a contamination tag will explain why it has not been accepted for recycling.

“We want to recognise those who are making the effort to recycle right, but we also want to send a clear message to those who are quite blatantly misusing their recycling bin that we will not tolerate general rubbish being put in them," Trotter said.

“When people put general rubbish in their yellow wheelie bin they put the entire recycling operation in jeopardy and push-up the cost of delivering our kerbside rubbish and recycling services - a cost that is borne by all ratepayers.

“We need everyone to make an effort to ensure only the right stuff ends up in the yellow wheelie bins because we don’t want have to send any more material to landfill than we have to."

During the level 4 lockdown, the EcoSort recycling facility temporarily suspended its operations due to health and safety concerns and all material went to landfill.

"That situation has changed with recycling being processed again, this happened once the EcoSort resumed operations under level 3 and now only clean cardboard, paper, tin and aluminium cans, glass bottles and rigid plastic bottles and containers marked with the numbers 1, 2 or 5 can go in the yellow wheelie bin.

“Unfortunately some people are still choosing to put general rubbish and green waste in their yellow bin and as a result we are seeing higher levels of contamination within the material collected for recycling," Trotter said.

“In the first week that the EcoSort was back operating, 46 per cent of truckloads were rejected and had to be sent to landfill at a cost to residents of approximately $69,000.

"The situation has been improving but last week we still had to send 35 per cent of recycling  to landfill, at a cost of approximately $56,000."

“On average the rejected loads contained 20 per cent contamination, meaning misuse of the yellow bin has caused a significant amount of good recycling being sent to landfill," said Trotter.  

"We cannot afford that situation to continue. We’re hoping that through the spot checks we can help people understand what belongs in their yellow wheelie bins and also recognise those who are doing their best to recycle right.

“If people misuse their bins, they will not be emptied and if the misuse is repeated their bins may be removed and service suspended.

“I really urge anyone who is uncertain about what belongs in the yellow wheelie bin to download our wheelie bin app. It has detailed, easy to find information on what can go in each of the bins. There is also heaps of useful information on our website."

The right stuff to recycle

The only items that can go in the yellow bin are:

• Clean plastic bottles and containers numbered 1 are things like soft drink bottles
• Clean plastics bottles and containers numbered 2 are things like milk bottles
• Clean plastic bottles and containers numbered 5 are things like yoghurt and ice cream containers
• Metals: Aluminium cans, metal tins (lids in the red bin) or aerosol cans
• Clean glass: Clear and coloured glass bottles or jars (lids in the red bin)
• Clean cardboard and paper, newspapers, flattened cardboard boxes