Import ban by China may send recyclables in Northland to landfills

Territorial authorities in Northland are exploring alternative markets for recyclable materials after China banned their importation. Photo/Michael Cunningham

Northland is grappling with a "recycling crisis" after China's ban on many recyclable materials could send the items to local landfills should new destinations for the material not be found.

Refuse collectors in Northland have stopped collecting items such as containers for motor oil, while plastic bottles needed to be rinsed, squashed flat and lids removed before they were collected.

China banned imports of more than 20 types of recyclable materials, except milk bottles, in July to curb the amount of dirt carried by foreign waste.

As a result, recycling companies around the world are scrambling to find new destinations for the junk - except plastic milk bottles - they once sent to China.

Kaipara District Council acting chief executive Peter Tynan said council contractors still accepted plastics at collection points but they may end up in a landfill if an alternative market could not be found.

There was no landfill for recyclable materials in Kaipara but there was one in Whangarei.

If plastic waste was disposed of in landfills it wouldl take many hundreds of years to break down.

About 47 tons of recyclable materials was collected in Kaipara last year and 50 per cent was exported to China.

"At the present time the contractor is collecting, sorting and processing and storing these products until a longer term solution is available," Tynan said.

Whangarei District Council solid waste engineer David Lindsay said there was an anticipation of new offshore facilities in other parts of Asia that would recycle lower grade plastics other than milk bottles.

However, he said there would likely be a requirement for the quality of the recycle materials to be improved to make them cleaner.

About 700 tonnes of plastics per year was collected from the kerbside in Whangarei.

Mr Lindsay said WDC would continue to promote recycling of higher grade plastics such as plastic milk bottles while the collection of a wider range of plastic materials were being considered.

The Far North District Council has not changed its policy on the range of materials accepted for recycling at its refuse transfer and recycling stations.

General manager infrastructure and asset management, Andy Finch, said recycling collected both by council and kerbside collectors was sorted into different grades by hand to maximise the value of the product and the number of buyers willing to pay for it.

"So far, contractors have not had problems selling recyclables sourced from the Far North.

The council would continue to monitor the situation, he said.

Recyclable items China has stopped importing includes soft drink bottles, sports bottles, medicine bottles, food trays, detergent bottles, packaging wraps such as plastic takeaway containers, plumbing pipes, bubble wrap, zip-lock, grocery and squeezable bags.