Concern about plastics rubbish going to landfills is based on the fact that they degrade very slowly. A more fundamental issue is that plastics disposal represents a waste of a valuable, non-renewable petrochemical resource.
There are four options available at the end of a plastic product's life: mechanical recycling, chemical recycling, energy recovery and landfill. In New Zealand, landfill is the prevalent destination for plastic products, with 18% of plastic packaging now being diverted through private and public recycling operations.
Why Bother to Recycle?
- resources, including non-renewable raw materials, are conserved
- it reduces landfill requirements and costs
- the use of recycled material usually means less energy is needed than that used to produce virgin plastic
- it provides new opportunities and new products
- it increases employment opportunities.
Benefits of Recycling
The Department of Environment and Climate Change NSW - Australia (formerly the Department of Environment and Conservation NSW ) undertook a Recycling study in 2005 to demonstrate the environmental benefits of recycling a range of virgin based products were directly compared to products made using recycled materials.
For further information please visit http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/education/spd_lgov_benefitrecycling.htm
There are three main streams of plastic recycling in New Zealand:
- kerbside PET (1) and HDPE (2) collections of household waste
- commercial collection of commercial films (shrink and shroud wrap)
- in-house plastics recycling by manufacturers.
How are plastics recycled in New Zealand?
The material collected by territorial authorities and recycling companies is used for mechanical recycling. This process involves: 
- material collection - the plastics destined for recycling need to be collected; this may be from a manufacturing site, a commercial operation seeking to dispose of bulk packaging, such as pallet wrap, "drop off" points at schools, or from houses, from a kerbside collection
- transport to the recycling centre
- sorting into types that can be re-processed together, and either
- baling for export or
- cleaning to remove dirt and other contaminants normally this is done by cutting the plastics into small flakes and putting these flakes through a washing and drying process
- the flakes are then melted and extruded (squirted) into thin lines and then chopped into granules
- reuse - the granules, or pellets, can then be used to make new plastic products.
PET (1) is exported in bales to be reprocessed to Australia, China and Asia. Most HDPE (2) and commercial film is being reprocessed here. Click here to see the products that recycled plastics can be reused in.
For further information on our 2004 Recycling Survey in New Zealand please see the document below :
To increase plastic recycling here, Plastics New Zealand encourages:
- advanced design to facilitate recycling
- labelling products with the Plastic Identification Code to aid sorting and collecting.
- selecting packaging materials able to be recycled.
- using recovered recycled material in their products.
- promoting and educating their customers and the public about the environmental and social benefits of plastic and plastic recycling.
- stimulation of new markets to ensure an end-use for recyclate.
- investment in new technologies to support material recycling and new techniques.
Find out more about the New Zealand Plastics Sustainability Initiative.
Some important things to know:
- collecting and sorting plastic can cost a lot
- quality of recovered plastic is not as good as new (virgin) plastic so it is worth less
- so it's a tough business but we're getting better at it.
You can help by:
- sorting your plastic carefully
- checking to see what is able to be collected at kerbside in your area
- always rinsing and removing lids
- close the loop - buy products with recycled plastic in them!!
Recycling Plastic at Home and Work
As a citizen and consumer, there are several things you can do to decrease plastic waste:
- Reduce waste by reviewing your purchasing options and by finding ways to reuse disposable plastic items.
- Participate in your local recycling program
- Separate your recyclables from your trash
- Separate your recyclables from each other in accordance with local programs.
- Prepare your plastic for recycling by rinsing it and removing the caps, cap rings and base cups from plastic bottles. These accessories may be made from other types of plastic and by removing them you will help reduce processing time and expense
- Seek products made from or packaged in recycled-content plastic or other readily recyclable material
- how can you tell if a product contains recycled content? Look out for the Envirochoice label.
Other Types of Recycling
Innovative techniques in the energy recovery and materials recovery area are beginning to appear in Europe, the US and Japan. While the relatively small volumes of recyclable material available in this country may make such developments too expensive to establish here, the local industry continues to monitor, investigate and commit resources to seeking a technology, or technologies, that would be applicable to the New Zealand situation.
More information on plastic recycling:
