Just look for the little triangle: TV messaging adds to recycling confusion

Monday, 3 August 2020

Simplifying or confusing: Mixed messaging irks waste educators.

Waste industry experts are in a spin over the latest public attempts to simplify recycling in New Zealand.

Viewers of TV3’s The Project were told on Friday that pizza boxes could be recycled, according to researchers.

“Mind blown!’’ co-host Ali Mau said.

Pizza boxes can be recycled in some places, but they go in organics collections in some Canterbury districts.

Audience members were equally enlightened – except it may not be true where they live.

Paper and plastics may be recyclable in some places but that doesn’t mean they are accepted in all kerbside recycling bins.

* NZ homes dispose of 1.76 billion plastic containers each year, report reveals

* Pitfalls of recycling compounded by fact no two councils are the same

The Australasian Recycling Label should not be confused with the internationally-recognised recycling triangle.

* Science superhero Nanogirl casts superpower spell at school breakfast

This cheese packaging has a triangle recycling symbol on it, but should not be put in a recycling bin.

Many Canterbury councils ask that pizza boxes go into the organics collection, not the recycling bin.

The previous week, Nestle and science educator Dr Michelle Dickinson, better known as Nanogirl, added to the confusion in their 2020 Fieldays partnership helping “Kiwis to recycle right’’.

Loose lids are often too small to be detected by optical sorters at recycling centres and end up going to landfill.

Dickinson told The AM Show people could tell if a product can be recycled simply by checking the packaging for a triangle symbol.

She was referring to the Australasian Recycling Label, rather the standard recycling triangle seen on most packaging in New Zealand.

Constantly changing markets mean tonnes of plastic is now being landfilled. (File photo).

A Nestle spokeswoman said the company had teamed up with Nanogirl to “get recycling back in the spotlight’’.

She said while the Australasian Recycling Label was not as widely used in New Zealand, the idea was to eventually have a common label people could look for to easily identify where packaging should be disposed of.

While there are trials on plastic bottle tops, most places send them to landfill.

Dickinson also claimed people could put plastic bottle top lids in their recycling as “sorting machines” could handle them from there.

But many councils are asking Kiwis to send bottle tops to landfill because they can clog up the sorting machines if sent as recycling.

WasteMINZ sector projects manager Jenny Marshall said while some councils did accept bottle lids for recycling, they would likely be sent to landfill as they were too small to be baled.

South Taranaki is trialling a drop-off system for milk bottle tops, which could be recycled in New Zealand if sorted separately, she said.

WasteMINZ figures show 63 of New Zealand's 67 councils accept clean pizza boxes in recycling, but some Canterbury’s councils – Christchurch, Waimakariri, Ashburton and Timaru – actually want them put in the organics bin.

New Zealand authorities are recycling fewer materials than ever before, with the Kaikōura District Council this year confirming it is sending plastics and paper to landfill because it no long has a market for them.

The types of plastics being accepted across the country, while variable, are becoming fewer – 44 councils accepted number 7 plastics (commonly used for children's toys) at the start of 2019, compared with just 18 this year.

The number accepting number 4 plastics dropped from 49 to 22 over the same period, according to WasteMINZ figures.

Canterbury-based waste educator Lesley Ottey, of Eco Educate, said generic TV messaging was unhelpful.

People should always check the rules with their local council, as they were not standard across the country, let alone Australasia, she said.

Karen Driver, of Envision NZ, said the key message should be that recyclable materials must be clean.

“Perhaps many recyclers do take [pizza boxes] but not all, and what level of contamination is acceptable? All the other messaging on recyclables is that it needs to be clean.’’

The Government plans to standardise recycling across the country, but the work is still at an early stage.

''The Ministry for the Environment is working with local government and the waste sector to investigate ways to standardise kerbside waste and recycling collections, in order to increase consistency and reduce confusion for households,'' Associate Minister for the Environment Eugenie Sage said in June.

In the meantime, Ottey urged television broadcasters not to confuse things further.

“When in doubt, ask your local council, or the waste educator funded by the council. Let us help you.’’