Dunedin's recycling crimes mean 70 tonnes of non-recyclable rubbish ends up in council recycling wheelie bins each month.
In an effort to reduce that 70-tonne mountain the Dunedin City Council has simple tips for well-meaning recyclers who put non-recyclable items in their bins.
Solid waste manager Catherine Irvine said some of the most common errors good-intentioned residents made included putting disposable coffee cups, plastic bags and polystyrene in their bins.
Other avoidable mistakes included putting recycling in plastic bags - which staff did not have time to sort through and ends up going to the landfill - not cleaning recycling and putting glass in the wheelie bins instead of the blue bins, Ms Irvine said.
These mistakes contributed to a monthly average of about 70 tonnes - equating to 9.3% of what goes in the bins - of rubbish which was retrieved at a recycling facility in Green Island and then sent to the neighbouring landfill.
Another part of the problem was people using their council wheelie bins for all their rubbish.
Nappies - sorters call them "bombs'' - are an item that keeps popping up.
"That's where it really can contaminate everybody else's bin recycling.''
Ms Irvine said the contamination rates in Dunedin were normal, but they could be improved if well-meaning residents learned what is recyclable and what is not.
She also asked residents to think of the people who had to sort through the recycling.
"This is semi-automated, but there is also people working here, so please wash out containers.
"If you have just had some hummus and you have left all the grotty bits in the bottom, by the time it's gets here sometimes it's been in the recycling bin for two weeks and it's maggoty and disgusting and smelly.''
Pizza boxes covered in left-over cheese also needed to be cleaned before they ended in the bin.
People also assumed disposable paper coffee cups could be recycled, but the components they were made of meant most belonged in the landfill.
People looking for a place to recycle their plastic bags could take them to their local supermarket - some offered a recycling service.
In an effort to improve contamination rates the council was redeveloping its communication strategy, which would include pictorial displays showing people what they could recycle, and would get tougher on people who used their recycling bins for all their rubbish.
Recycling mistakes
• Disposable coffee cups - most are coated in plastic and cannot be recycled in Dunedin.
• Dirty packaging - packaging, including pizza boxes, not properly cleaned end up in the landfill.
• Plastic bags - plastic bags can be recycled at some supermarkets but not in Dunedin City Council wheelie bins.
• Bagging recycling - any recycling contained in plastic bags ends up at the tip as staff do not have time to sort it.
• Polystyrene - even polystyrene with labels indicating it can be recycled cannot be recycled.
