Where does my recycling go?

What happens to your recycling? Why bother to recycle in the first place – I mean what’s the point, it all goes to landfill anyway, doesn’t it?

Despite myths stating recycling goes to landfill (which is not true), the tonnages of recyclable material collected continues to grow considerably. Transpacific AllBrite Ltd now employ 60 people at their recycling centre in Napier. Everyone has seen those large blue and yellow trucks collecting recyclable material from right outside their homes.

So what happens to the collected materials?

The materials are taken to Transpacific AllBrite Ltd where they are further sorted into material types. These are various grades of paper and cardboard, plastics grades 1 and 2, tin/steel cans, aluminium cans, glass bottles and jars.

Every tonne of paper and cardboard recycled saves 17 trees from being cut down and manufactured into tissues, paper and cardboard or packaging materials – remember all your junk mail can be recycled. While much of Hawke’s Bays paper is recycled in New Zealand a large quantity is exported to Asia.

Glass is either sent to Auckland or exported to Asia where it is ground into a feedstock called ‘cullet’ and mixed with virgin material to make new bottles. By including recycled glass into the manufacture of new glass, the energy requirement is reduced by 33% - an easy way to save energy.

Only two grades of plastic are currently collected in Hawke’s Bay.

Grades 1 and 2 plastic bottles can be identified by the number 1 or 2 in the triangular recycling symbol displayed on the bottle.

Grade 1 (PET) plastic bottles tend to be fizzy drink, water and juice bottles while grade 2 (HDPE) are milk bottles, household cleaner and dishwashing detergent bottles. PET exported to Asia is typically spun into yarn.

This yarn is made into clothing, carpets and may even be part of your polar fleece jacket that is keeps you warm in winter!! Grade 2 is manufactured into a range of products including pipes, matting, slip-sheets, buckets, compost bins and so on.

Aluminium cans are crushed and shipped overseas where they are melted and cast into ingots. These ingots can be made into new cans, parts for cars, planes or bikes, kitchen and household items. The energy saved by recycling one aluminium can, could power your TV for four hours.

Steel cans are recycled in New Zealand. Once sorted and baled they are sent to Auckland where they are made into a huge variety of steel products.

If these resources were not recycled, they would be buried in Omarunui Landfill – what a waste. Remember - every item recycled contributes to large savings of raw materials, reduced water and energy requirements for production, and creates jobs.

Next time you are putting something in the bin, take a second to think how you can recycle it!

Contact

For more information, contact the Waste Minimisation Team on freephone 0508 NO WASTE or 06 871 5046 or email  wipeoutwaste@hdc.govt.nz.