Whakatāne District Council is replacing public yellow mixed-recycling bins with black bins that will accept aluminium cans only, in a move aimed at reducing contamination and increasing the amount of material that can be recycled.
Council said food scraps, rubbish, and incorrectly placed items have contaminated recycling collected in public places, sending recyclable material to landfill.
Manager Waste and Resource Recovery Lisa Eve says dedicated aluminium can collection will help address the problem.
“It might sound a little surprising, but by accepting fewer types of recycling in these bins, we expect more of what we collect will actually be recycled,” she said.
“Other councils have successfully moved to cans-only recycling in public places, and it has significantly reduced contamination. We’re taking the same approach here, focusing on aluminium cans because they’re one of the most common recyclable items people dispose of while they’re out and about.”
From this week, plastic containers, paper and cardboard will no longer be accepted in public recycling stations.
Residents are encouraged to take recyclable #1, #2 and #5 plastic containers, along with clean paper and cardboard, home for their yellow-lid recycling bins.
Blue recycling bins will continue to accept glass bottles and jars without lids, while the new black bins will be used for aluminium cans.
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