Next time you chuck something in your recycling bins in the Queenstown Lakes District, spare a thought for the staff who have to hand-sort it.
In the wake of standardised kerbside recycling across New Zealand which came into effect this month, introduced by the Ministry for the Environment, the Queenstown Lakes District Council took media on a special tour of its Queenstown materials recycling facility, operated by Waste Management, on Thursday.
The change means all councils across the country accept the same standard set of materials in their household collections, helping to reduce confusion about what can and cannot be put in household recycling bins.
It also gives businesses more clarity around packaging materials which will be accepted for recycling.
In Queenstown Lakes, materials which were marked with a ‘1’ could now be recycled — that included meat trays, punnets and coloured plastic bottles, like L&P.
Pizza boxes free from grease and food could also now be recycled, as could plastic containers up to 4 litres.
While Queenstown Lakes averaged about 15% contamination per month — a level the district council’s solid waste contracts manager Laura Gledhill said was "really, really good" — it was clear some people needed to be more careful about what they considered "recycling".
"Your imagination is the limit", Waste Management health, safety, environment and quality adviser Rod Jarvie said.
"We have e-cigarettes and kitchen knives come through — e-cigarettes can start a fire.
"We’ve had live ammunition ... four live shotgun pellets.
Just this week, one of the 10 staff at the Glenda Dr facility needed first-aid treatment after being affected by "cloudy ammonia".
A small amount was left in a bottle, which "developed a mist" as it went through the processing facility.
"Stuff like that should be triple-rinsed, at least", Mr Jarvie said.
It was not a great working environment, Ms Gledhill said.
"These guys are manually sorting through piles of recycling— hand sorting.
"It’s not a fun job, by any stretch of the imagination."
In the financial year to date, staff at the Queenstown and Wanaka facilities had processed an average total of 201 tonnes a month from household mixed-recycling collections, and a total of 108 tonnes a month from commercial mixed recycling and cardboard.
Household glass averaged 194 tonnes a month across the district, with another 54 tonnes a month from commercial drop-offs.
While glass went to Auckland for recycling, and plastics went either to Christchurch or Wellington, cardboard and paper was shipped offshore, primarily to Malaysia.
Ms Gledhill said a redesign of the Wanaka transfer station was under way.
There was a need for a new facility to replace the existing one in Queenstown, commissioned about 16 years ago, the cost of which was unknown.
Recycling facts
What you can recycle kerbside:
— Clean plastic bottles, trays and containers marked ‘1’, ‘2’ and ‘5’ — maximum container size 4 litres
— Clean aluminium and steel cans
— Clean paper and cardboard
— Clean glass bottles and jars
What you cannot recycle kerbside:
— Soft plastics, i.e, anything "scrunchable"
— Coffee cups
— Plastic pot plant containers
— Any drink cartons, i.e., any "cardboard" which contains liquid
— Lids
— Plastics marked ‘3’, ‘4’, ‘6’, or ‘7’
— Plastic or foil-lined paper and cardboard
Tips for glass recycling
— Clean glass bottles and jars used for food and drink can be recycled
— Lids and all other glass, including drinking glasses, window glass and ceramics, go in your red rubbish bin
For a full list, see qldc.govt.nz
