Why do I need to put my recycling crate, bags of paper, cardboard and refuse/rubbish bags out by 7.30am and... Why are the collectors leaving the plastic bags of paper and box board behind?
Due to increased quantities of material being put out for collection there are now separate trucks collecting the paper, box board and corrugated cardboard. These trucks often follow a different route to those taken by the trucks which collect the other recyclables in the green crates so won’t necessarily go past your house at the same time.
This is why it is important that all your refuse/rubbish bags and recycling materials are out at the kerbside by 7.30am.
Some trucks are not marked Onyx but are in the Onyx colours of white, red and black.

Why do I need to put paper and box board into the plastic supermarket bags?
Paper and box board can only be recycled if they are clean and dry. If they become dirty or wet they are referred to as being "contaminated" and cannot be recycled.
Don’t forget, you can put newspaper, glossy magazines, other paper and box board (so long as it is all clean and has had no direct contact with food) into the same plastic bags. Just don’t over fill the bags, as the handles need to be tied securely so as to protect the contents against the weather. This also helps to reduce the risk of paper and card flying around your neighbourhood on windy days.

Does anything need to be sorted?
Kerbside recycling is easy — no real sorting required, only the separation of paper products and box board into plastic bags (see above). The other recyclable items can go into the crate loosely with the plastic bags of paper product on top (this helps to reduce potential litter problems).
The exception to this is corrugated cardboard which needs to be tied into bundles of a size no bigger than a black refuse/rubbish bag (larger sheets of corrugated cardboard should be cut to size). This assists handling and again reduces the risk of cardboard flying around you neighbourhood.

Why do items need to be clean?
You don’t need to sort your recyclables but someone on the collection truck does! It is a very labour-intensive job made more difficult and unpleasant if items are dirty, contain any food or if they still contain the residue of cleaning substances which can splash on to sorters. Also the sorting area isn’t big and can get very hot.
Sometimes recyclable items are stockpiled until there is sufficient quantity for transporting to manufacturers. If items are dirty they can become smelly and a health hazard — attracting rodents.

What is box board?
It is a lighter grade of card which is not corrugated cardboard. Examples are cereal, tea and soap boxes. These must be empty (including any protective inner bag or lining) and clean. The side or bottom flaps must be undone and the box flattened and placed in a plastic bag.
Box board is not the same as tetrapaks.

Can tetrapaks/tetrabrics (eg milk and juice cartons) be recycled?
These are cartons with either a wax, plastic or foil lining. They can be recycled and are a separate category to paper and boxboard. They are often used for milk, fruit juices, custard and yoghurts. They must be rinsed clean and placed loose in your crate — no need to flatten.

Do labels need to be removed?
No need to remove labels from plastic or glass items. The proportion of label to recyclable item is small enough not to cause a contamination problem.

Do lids need to be removed?
Yes — lids are often made from a different grade or type of plastic to their containers. If different grades of plastics are mixed in the recycling process that batch can be ruined and will need to be dumped. Lids are also small and fiddly to sort so please discard.

What is Real Recycling?
All the items collected at the kerbside have a market which is why only the items on the information poster (a copy of which was included with last month’s City Scene - see Further Information below) are collected, and why non-recyclable items are left behind in crates — that’s why it’s being called “real recycling”. Christchurch residents can have confidence that what is collected at the kerbside is being recycled and won’t end up at the landfill.

Does that mean that everything that is taken from the kerbside is recycled?
Yes, so long as it isn’t contaminated. Contaminated items are those which cannot be used because they have the potential to ruin an entire run of a particular item.

* Further Information If you have any other questions contact us at: waste@ccc.govt.nz or phone 941 8830, or visit the website:www.ccc.govt.nz/Waste. If you would like a copy of the information poster (called Real Recycling made easy) which includes the new items for recycling, you can collect one from the Council Service Centres; Civic Offices, Tuam Street; or phone 941 8830 and one will be sent to you.