YELLOW BIN RECYCLING
Confused about what’s recyclable? Here’s what does and doesn’t go in your yellow bin:
Recycling
- Plastic bottles, trays and containers numbered 1, 2 and 5 only (no smaller than 100ml or bigger than 4 litres)
- Food and drink tins and cans
- Paper and cardboard
- Glass bottles and jars
Rubbish
- Compostable packaging and containers
- Nappies and sanitary products
- Lids for bottles, jars and containers
- Fabric and clothing
- Soft plastics
- Polystyrene
- E-waste
- Coffee cups and lids
- Aerosols
Explore our world-class Materials Recovery Facility
CHRISTCHURCH BINS APP
Download the Christchurch City Council Bins app
Look up items to see what bin they belong in
Reminders to set your bins out on the correct days
Learn helpful tips on reducing waste
RECYCLE RIGHT
Most Kiwis can now recycle the same things from home
Here’s how you can recycle right:
Take off the lids of your dirty bottles and jars, plastic bottles and containers, and tins and cans, and put them in the rubbish
Remove any food scraps, flatten your pizza boxes, and put them out for recycling
Rinse out your dirty bottles and jars, plastic bottles and containers, and tins and cans
Make sure everything is loose, not bagged or tied together
If you have any reusable items, drop them off at your nearest EcoDrop
Watch these videos for more recycling tips
RECYCLED PRODUCTS
Once your recycling has been sorted and baled, it is sent off to different processing plants. Here’s what happens once the products leave our EcoSort facility:
Fibre
Commodities are tendered on a six-weekly basis to Brokers who represent processing mills. For the past two years the fibre has ultimately been sent to pulping facilities in either Malaysia or Indonesia. In general, the pulp is then sent through to China for manufacture into cardboard boxes.
HDPE Janitorials
HDPE Janitorials/coloured is sold to a local, niche processor who washes, chips and extrudes the material to be used in the production of pipe.
HDPE 
HDPE Natural/bottles has two destinations. Approximately half of the material produced is sold to the same processor as the HDPE Janitorials/coloured who mixes the two materials for specialist pipe manufacture. The remainder is sent to a processing plant in America where it is washed, flaked and extruded to be used in the production of bottles in non-food applications.
Scrap metal
Scrap metal is sold to a local scrap metal merchant. This particular merchant has their own recycling processes to further strip down material to recover specific items such as copper from plastic covered wire, cabling from Air Conditioners and the like.
PP
PP is exported to a processing plant in Malaysia where it is washed, flaked and extruded into pellets. From there it is exported to a sister manufacturing plant in China where it is manufactured into products such as plant pots and outdoor furniture.
Glass
Glass processed through the Material Recover Facility is broken up and produces two types of material. One being fine broken glass that is less then 3mms which is used as bedding for pipe installation and the other is 3-18mm which is used in roading. Both are sold to Fulton Hogan locally.
PET
PET is sold to certified SE Asian secondary processing plants where it is washed, flaked and extruded into pellets. From here, it is exported to manufacturing plants in China where it is manufactured into new bottle pre-forms for use in the beverage sector.
Aluminium
Aluminium is sold to a Broker who ships this to a processing plant in South Korea. This plant processes the material into aluminium coils which are then sold to processors who manufacture aluminium cans. This particular plant supplies aluminium coils back to New Zealand based can manufacturers.