Working to get recycling right

Monday, 17 July 2017 – Recycling bins around Dunedin will be inspected over coming weeks to help ensure people are getting it right.

Dunedin City Council Solid Waste Manager Catherine Irvine says, “The majority of Dunedin residents are keen to recycle and for the most part do a good job.”

“There are a few common mistakes people make with their recycling, and this is an opportunity to give them some guidance. For example, many people don’t realise that we can’t accept plastic bags in the yellow-lidded recycling bins because they get tangled in the machinery at the sorting facility,” she says.

The inspections start today and will run for 12 weeks. The inspections are intended to help people improve their recycling, reduce contamination and keep the staff who collect and sort recycling safe.

The DCC will be visually checking yellow-lidded bins around the city, providing feedback to residents by using coloured tags. If people need some further guidance, they may also receive a letter.

It’s only a small minority of people who put general waste or hazardous materials in their recycling bins. In persistent cases, the recycling bin may be removed.

Ms Irvine says, “Hazards like needles can put collection and sorting staff at risk. We are also concerned about contamination as it affects the quality of other people’s good recycling when it gets loaded into the collection truck and reduces the likelihood that collected materials will be recycled.”

The contamination rate has risen from 5.7% in 2010/11 to 11% in 2016/17.

More information is available at www.dunedin.govt.nz/recycle.

ENDS

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