No more free crates: Waikato District tightens up on applying recycling rules

Have you got two of the Waikato District reycling crates, one for glass and the other for cans and permitted plastics? Photo / Supplied

Waikato District Council is warning residents to properly sort their recycling into two crates or it won't be picked up.

However, there are problems around the two blue council supplied crates because they seem to disappear from households around the district.

The council had been giving out extra crates for free, but will now be charging $18.50 for a replacement.

One crate is for glass only and the other for cans and recyclable plastics. From this week, only plastics with recycling numbers 1, 2 or 5 can be put in a crate. Plastics with numbers 3, 4, 6 or 7 need to go in the rubbish bag. All recycling needs to be rinsed clean before being put into crates.

The council's solid waste team leader, Phil Ellis, says: "All properties eligible for a kerbside collection service were issued two crates in 2016. But there are people who leave their crates out on the kerb for days and they can get stolen or damaged or used for other purposes."

If you don't have two crates there are two options: Alternate your recycling, putting out plastics and cans in one week and glass the next, or buy a new crate from the council.

Ellis says the council initially extended a grace period for about a year and a half for people who said they didn't receive a second crate.

"We are not able to continue to give recycling crates away after almost five years to households that say they have only one crate as it is a cost borne by all ratepayers.

"Residents were given crates, now they are responsible for that, including replacing them if they get lost or broken."

People can use crates of a similar size issued by other councils but they can't use other things like cardboard boxes or plastic boxes for plastic, tins and glass, that they may have bought themselves or decided to use.

"When you are dealing with thousands of people it becomes problematic if you don't have standardised crates to use – it may not be suitable or, particularly if it is filled with glass, it may be unsafe to lift," says Ellis.

"As the council uses open crates, it is much easier for runners and drivers to check for contamination at the kerb. If the recycling is not separated properly, the bins might not get picked up.

"If there are households that require more direct assistance and communication of how to ensure recycling gets picked up, they will have the support from council's solid waste team," says Ellis.

Another change is that lids from plastic and glass containers need to be taken off and put in the rubbish.

"WasteMINZ has reported that lids get stuck in equipment and block machinery. Lids also slip through and contaminate glass as they can be made of multiple materials," Ellis says.

However, larger lids, such as icecream containers, can be sorted as paper.

Paper and cardboard with a maximum size of 50cm x 50cm x 50cm should be put next to the crates either in a cardboard box or paper bag.

The Government is looking at standardising recycling collection across New Zealand which would require higher quality of recycling collected from kerbside.