You're probably recycling wrong - here's how to get it right
When I saw a Waste and Recycling Industry Forum report this week that said nearly a fifth of New Zealand's recycling winds up in landfill due to contamination, I thought, "How hard is it to recycle, you idiots?"
And then someone at work casually mentioned that they had been very good and removed all the lids from their recycling that morning.
Reader, I have not been removing the lids from my recycling.
It's me, hi, I'm the idiot, it's me.
What else might I and my fellow New Zealanders be getting wrong when bin day rolls around?
A recycling education
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When I confessed my recycling sins to Parul Sood, general manager of waste solutions at Auckland Council, she was very kind to me, saying that up until a few months ago, I was doing the right thing keeping the lids on my bottles.
But New Zealand's recycling systems moved to a national standard in February, which is when removing lids became a nationwide requirement.
There are a few problems with lids on recyclables, Sood said.
"When you put the lid on the bottle pack, sometimes people leave liquid in it, so it's not completely rinsed out," she said.
"Then in some facilities the lids can fall through the [sorting] machines, too, and they can't be recycled."
Other recycling crimes
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Leaving lids on recyclables and failing to properly clean containers out are common recycling issues, but Sood said the bigger issue is people still contaminating their recycling bins with rubbish that should be going to landfill or recycled elsewhere.
She said that just because some items, like batteries or metal, can be recycled in other ways, they have no business being in a curbside recycling bin.
"People need to be really aware that your recycling bin is for packaging that comes out of your kitchen, laundry and your bathroom ... no other material," she said.
"People are even putting electronics [in their recycling bin]. We had a truck come into the facility recently which had caught fire because it had electronics in it."
Bags of soft plastics and clothing are also common culprits, which Sood said can pose extra problems at recycling facilities because they get tangled in machinery.
While there are people manually sifting through items on the conveyor belts at recycling facilities, they are mostly there to remove any offending large pieces.
If too many contaminated items make it through the sorting process, the recyclables can be rejected by the markets that are going to repurpose the materials. And that could ultimately mean large quantities of recycling must be sent to landfill instead.
When it comes to putting items in your recycling bin, Sood said: "If in doubt, leave it out."
"If you're not sure if [something] goes in the recycling bin or not, just put it in the rubbish; that's probably better," she said.
"I think taking a minute to just do the right thing with that packaging is worth it."
Becoming a recycling superstar
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What should you be putting in your recycling bin then?
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Glass bottles and jars
Tin, steel, and aluminium cans
Plastic containers (that are grades 1, 2 and 5) from your kitchen, bathroom or laundry. These containers should not be larger than 4 litres.
Newspapers and magazines
Paper and cardboard, including window envelopes, egg cartons and (empty) pizza boxes. Bubble wrap, polystyrene, and plastic packaging should be removed from the cardboard boxes — any tape or labels can stay on.
Items that cannot go in your recycling bin include:
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Soft plastics (these can instead be dropped off at supermarkets or other retailers that are part of the soft plastics recycling scheme)
Food
Liquid paperboard (such as milk or juice Tetra Pak cartons)
Aerosol cans
Garden or building waste
Nappies or sanitary products
Window or mirror glass
Light bulbs
Electronics or batteries
Before you throw your recyclables in your bin, there are a couple of other things to do.
You need to ensure any items you're recycling are bigger than 50mm x 50mm.
You should also make sure the items are loose in the bin — recyclable items shouldn't be lumped together in a bag.
Finally, don't forget to empty and rinse out your bottles and containers and, of course, make sure you remove those offending lids.
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Poll: Are our Kiwi summer holidays helping us recharge, or holding the economy back? ☀️🥝
There’s growing debate about whether New Zealand’s extended Christmas break (and the slowdown that comes with it) affects productivity.
Tracy Watkins has weighed in ... now it’s your turn. What’s your take? 🤔
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72.8% We work hard, we deserve a break!
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16.1% Hmm, maybe?
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11.1% Yes!
Aucklanders, we want to know: How are you feeling about the current property market?
New Zealand homeowners are now more likely to sell at a loss than at any time since 2013, and if you’re in Auckland or Wellington, the odds are even higher.
But there is a silver lining: buyers are still in a strong position when it comes to negotiating prices.
So we’re curious…
How are you feeling about the current property market?
If you’re keen to dive into the details, Deborah Morris breaks down all the latest insights.
7000 pensioners overcharged in another Inland Revenue error
Almost 7000 pensioners have been affected by another Inland Revenue error.
Last week, RNZ reported that 4500 people had overpaid tax after their imputation credits had been incorrectly recorded in their prep-populated tax returns.
Others got in touch and said they had also experienced a problem, this time with the way that NZ Super was recorded for ACC purposes.
One man said he had been charged $301.68 in ACC earner levy for $18,854.98 of gross income from NZ Super that should not have attracted a levy at all.
He said he was not able to control this when he completed his return and did not realise the error until the process was complete.
He said he did not think a lot more about it but when he saw RNZ's reporting of the other error, he realised that there had been at least two this year.
"This really starts to suggest a deficiency in change control of IRD systems."
Another couple said they wanted assurance that Inland Revenue had taken steps to stop it happening again.
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Inland Revenue said 6778 people were affected.
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"There was an issue identified earlier this year where we were not populating the 'earnings not liable' figure correctly for some customers. We fixed those returns for the customers in July 2025."
Chartered Accountants Australia New Zealand tax leader John Cuthbertson said ACC was not paid on NZ Super because it was not liable income.
"However, if you're working and receiving NZ Super, your earnings from that work do attract levies."
"The advancements in digitalisation and MyIR have been quite incredible, except when it goes wrong like this. You shouldn't need a Chartered Accountant to check prepopulated forms, but the average person might not know that super income does not attract ACC levies. We used to say 'google it' but many taxpayers are now using AI to do a basic check of their tax returns, asking simple questions like 'Should I pay 'x' levy on 'y' income?"
Angus Ogilvie, managing director of Generate Accounting Group, said it was concerning that issues seemed to be leading to erroneous data being prepopulated into Inland Revenue's system.
"The new software employed was a very costly and complex project. However, taxpayers should expect that there is a high level of diligence applied to get their tax obligations right. Let's hope that the department is devoting urgent resource to correct these issues".
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