We take all kinds of paper, but it must be clean and dry and easy to collect. Pop it in a plastic bag with handles tied and put it on top of your crate. This keeps it dry and prevents your other recyclables blowing away.

When you think paper, don't just think newspaper. Think glossy magazines, office paper and even advertising brochures and we want it all. We also take box-board such as cereal packets, just make sure they're clean, empty and flat and tied in the bag with the paper.

One-litre milk cartons and egg trays/cartons are the only paper items we don't want flattened. Rinsed milk cartons are used my.Trees for the Caterbury for tree seedlings and clean egg cartons can be used again. Please keep these items unflattened and them loose in your crate.

Remember

We cant take dirty or food-soiled paper. Box-board must be empty of all contents, flaps undone and put in with other paper.

We take corrugated cardboard but it has to be manageable for our collectors. Flatten and tie the cardboard in bundles no bigger than your crate, making it easy to pick up. Loose cardboard is not only difficult to collect but on windy days ends up all over the street and simply becomes litter.

By the way, pizza boxes are okay, as long as they are clean and tied. (We don't want last night's left-overs.)

Remember

Bind (500mm diameter max) your cardboard tightly so that it can be thrown easily onto the trucks. Large amounts of cardboard can be dropped off, for free, at your local refuse/recycling.

We take clean glass food and drink containers. Locally, certain wine and spirit bottles are reused and some glass is recycled for sandblasting, water filtration, flooring and tile manufacture. Any surplus is sent to Auckland for recycling back into new bottles and jars.

Other types of glass like window glass, light bulbs, drinking glasses and cookware are of different chemical composition and are not taken. Neither are lids, which should be removed and discarded.

Any broken glass is a safety hazard for our workers and should be placed in an open container beside your rubbish bag, not in your recycling crate.

Remember

Please empty and rinse out your bottles and jars and leave the lids off.
We can't take window glass, mirrors, light bulbs, crockery, ovenware, crystal, drinking glasses, kitchenware and ornamental glass.

We can only take clean plastic containers with numbers 1 or 2 in the recycling triangle as there are sustainable markets for only these plastics. Soft drink bottles are made into carpet and polar fleece. And did you know that it takes 32 plastic milk bottles to make one recycling crate?

Please remove all lids which helps to ensure the containers are clean and empty.

Currently we don't take plastic shopping bags which are a major litter hazard as they easily blow away and become a threat to farm stock, our waterways and our environment.

We hope to recycle more types of plastic in the future.

Remember

Plastics are grouped into basic codes for identification shown as a number from 1-7 in the recycling triangle. THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE PLASTIC IS RECYCLABLE. We only take numbers 1 and 2. ALWAYS CHECK THE NUMBER.

Wrong plastic types mixed together will result in faulty products e.g.: a bucket with holes in it.

Engine oil and plastic containers larger than 5 litres should be dropped off, for free, at your local refuse/recycling center.

We take all steel and aluminum tins and drink cans, baked beans, tuna fish or peaches etc. It is very important however that you rinse them out, push lids inside and squeeze the tops together. Dirty cans encourage stray cats and dogs and there's been the odd, sad case where cats have got their heads caught.

Food or liquid left in cans attracts flies, wasps and vermin and is also a health and safety concern for our workers. Remember to keep them clean and loose in your crate you don't have to remove labels.

Remember

Empty aerosol cans are OK, as are clean aluminum foil plates. Labels don't need to be removed from tins.