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New national recycling standards came into force on February 1, and locals wanting to keep recycling things that are no longer accepted in the Auckland Council bins are being encouraged to take them to Whangaparāoa Community Recycling Centre.
Only plastic (bottles, trays and containers) grades 1, 2 and 5 can be put in Council recycling now, along with glass bottles and jars, paper and cardboard, tin, steel and aluminium cans.
The plastic grade is shown by a small triangle with a number in the middle on the container.
Many other types of plastics are still manufactured and in circulation, including numbers 3, 4, 6 and 7. Some have no numbers. Tetra Paks (used for alternative milks and juices) are no longer taken by Council either.
This is where the recycling centre, at 637 Whangaparāoa Road in Stanmore Bay, can help.
It accepts many plastic types for recycling for a small charge, including number 4 squeeze bottles. Large number 3 plastics used to make plumbing pipes go into their Marley Plastics Bag to be turned back into plumbing pipes, and large number 5 plastics, like lawn chairs, kiddie pools, buckets and laundry baskets, go into the IP Plastics recycling bag to be made into crates.
Liquid Container Board, (aka Tetrapaks) can be flattened, cleaned and brought to the centre. They go to SaveBoard which makes sustainable construction board. There is no charge for that service.
The centre also accepts soft plastics and clear plastic film, which go to Future Post to be made into fence posts.
Plastics without numbers, or items made of several types of plastic mixed together, will end up being landfilled.
The recycling centre also accepts paper, glass bottles and metal cans for free. For a full list of items and charges, see https://hibiscuscoastzerowaste.co.nz/wcrc or call into the centre, which is open Thursday to Monday, 8am to 4pm.
