Going green benefits us now and in the future, and Taupō District Council has useful tips to help everyone improve their recycling efforts.

Taupō and Tūrangi are worthy finalists in the Keep New Zealand Beautiful Awards. One way the community can work together to come out on top is to reduce waste, clean-up, and focus on recycling.

Where does your recycling go? It gets transported throughout New Zealand to places where it can be broken down, recycled, and turned into things like milk bottles, carpets, clothing, picnic tables and even stuffing for life jackets.

Cell phone, laptop and single-use batteries can be recycled at the Broadlands Road Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre in Taupō and Tūrangi Transfer Station. It’s free to drop them off and valuable components from unwanted batteries can be reused.

Taupō District Council contracts engineer Parva Zareie said protecting the environment means keeping batteries out of landfill.

“If batteries are left to deteriorate they can become health hazards and are also a fire risk,” Parva said.

Children’s car seats can also be dropped off free of charge in Taupō at the Broadlands Road Resource Recovery Centre. Seats are collected, dismantled, and recycled. About 100,00 seats expire in New Zealand every year.

Taupō District Council waste minimisation officer Shannon Hanson says there are safety benefits to recycling expired car seats.

“This programme has important benefits for road safety and raising awareness of getting rid of damaged and expired car seats,” Shannon said.

Kerbside recycling in the district can be super-charged if everyone picks up some simple habits. The contractor has a tough job sorting out rubbish and recycling at the kerbside before loading it onto the truck. Rain or shine the team is out there even as volumes increase hugely during holidays and summer months.

Remember to put only clean unbroken glass into your black bin. Green bins are for plastics numbered 1, 2 and 5, tin and aluminium. If you haven’t got a green or black bin, simply pick one up from a Taupō District Council Customer Service Centre.

Recycle Week runs from Monday 16 October to Sunday 22 October. It’s vital not to contaminate recycling, so go to www.taupodc.govt.nz/recycling for useful information and more tips and tricks.

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