Where Your Recycling Goes
Every item you drop off is sorted and sent to the right place. Nothing goes to landfill. Here's what happens to each material type.
Glass
Glass bottles and jars are sorted by colour (clear, green, brown) and sent to glass recyclers. In New Zealand, most recycled glass is crushed into cullet and used in road base, construction aggregate, or turned back into new glass containers. Glass can be recycled endlessly without losing quality.
Cardboard & Paper
Cardboard boxes and paper are baled and sent to pulping mills. The fibres are broken down, cleaned, and turned back into new cardboard, paperboard, and tissue products. Flattening your boxes beforehand is helpful but not required – our volunteers handle it.
Plastics (1-7)
Plastic containers are sorted by resin code, cleaned, shredded, and sent to plastic reprocessors. In New Zealand, plastics 1 (PET), 2 (HDPE), and 5 (PP) have the strongest recycling pathways. Other numbers depend on current market demand. We take all of them and ensure each type reaches the right processor.
Metal Cans & Tins
Aluminium cans and steel tins are separated, crushed, and sent to metal recyclers. Aluminium is infinitely recyclable – a can you drop off today could be back on a shelf as a new can in as little as 60 days. Steel tins are melted down for new steel products.
E-Waste
Old electronics, cables, batteries, and appliances go to specialist e-waste processors. They dismantle items, recover valuable metals (copper, gold, silver), and safely handle hazardous components like batteries and CRT glass. Nothing ends up in landfill. For more detail, read our e-waste guide.
Whiteware & Appliances
Fridges, washing machines, dryers, and other large appliances are stripped for recyclable metals and components. Refrigerants are recovered safely by licensed handlers. Scrap metal goes to metal recyclers for reprocessing.
Soft Plastics
Plastic bags, wrappers, bread bags, and other soft plastics are collected and sent to processors that convert them into products like fence posts, decking, and garden edging. Soft plastics can't go in your kerbside bin, but we accept them.
Polystyrene
Polystyrene is compacted and sent to specialist recyclers who process it into new polystyrene products or building insulation. It's bulky but recyclable – we take it so it doesn't fill up landfill space.
Got stuff to recycle?
Pull up to the stone wall at 53A Donovan Street, Blockhouse Bay. Drop anything recyclable on the kerb – we'll sort it and send it to the right place.
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