Recycling bin inspections are helping Dunedin residents to get it right when it comes to recycling.

Dunedin City Council Waste and Environmental Solutions Group Manager Chris Henderson says kerbside inspections were undertaken in 2017 to help people improve their recycling, reduce contamination and keep the staff who collect and sort recycling safe.

“Close to 3000 yellow-lidded bins were checked around the city and feedback was given to residents by using coloured tags. Following the checks, we saw the contamination rate drop from 11% to 7.1%. Bins that were inspected at least three times showed a 27% improvement in recycling content.”

“The majority of people do a good job but there are a few common mistakes, and this is an opportunity to give some guidance. Two of the most common contamination items we see are soft plastics and milk or juice cartons.”

Mr Henderson says it’s a minority of people who put general waste or hazardous materials in their recycling bins but it’s an ongoing issue.

Some of the items found in these checks included nappies, medical waste, dog faeces and cigarette butts.

“While we’re seen improvements, we do still want to remind people about what is okay to recycle so we’ll be continuing bin inspections in 2018. These will start in a few months, and to give feedback we’ll be using coloured tags again.”

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

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