Palmerston North recycling guru takes on critics
A Palmerston North recycling guru has countered criticism the city council is too ‘‘picky’’ about what can go in recycling bins.
The complaint, posted on Neighbourly by city resident Phil Christensen, prompted an outpouring of comments from people who thought the council was not doing enough, and was making recycling too complicated.
The behaviour change and education co-ordinator for City Networks, Sam Battman, said the best way to rid the environment of waste that could not be recycled was to refuse it in the first place, and use consumer power to encourage retailers and suppliers to change their ways.
Christensen said it was a shame if people used their recycling bin for rubbish that was clearly unacceptable.
But he said the council’s list of what could go where had become too long and complex, as well as having gaps in it.
Dozens of comments followed, many of them negative, and many confused about what to do with things like meat trays.
Battman said the criticism was ‘‘a little disheartening’’, but it was great that people were talking and wanted to do better.
She said confusion arose when imported products had the recycling triangle on them, when in Palmerston North, and often in New Zealand, there was no way to make them into something else. When things that had no useful purpose arrived at the recycling plant, it took time and effort to pick them out and send them to landfill, and items such as plastic bags could damage the equipment. ‘‘We are doing as much as we can to collaborate with others and find solutions for more products.’’
One example of reacting to public pressure was the battery recycling pilot at the Ferguson St centre, which had become a permanent service.
People could drop off up to 2kg of household batteries, typically batteries from the remote controls, torches and phones, free of charge. They went to Auckland, and then to Melbourne to be broken down.
Council staff were working with others to find a responsible disposal solution for polystyrene, but for the moment, people were advised to avoid it or refuse it.
Battman said the city was in line to get a drop-off point where people could leave plastic shopping bags as part of the soft plastic recycling scheme next year. ‘‘But the best thing people can do is just avoid them – refuse them in the first place. Supermarkets are already responding to that sort of customer power.’’
She clarified the rules about meat trays. Polystyrene trays, often black, were rubbish.
Plastic trays that held their shape if you tried to crumple them, including the later-style clear ones with a honeycomb base, needed a good rinse then were good for the recycling bin.
Things like tetra packs and waxed paper and some pet food bags were also no use.
Battman said there was always a cost involved in sorting, storing and transporting recyclable material, with sales only covering 10-15 per cent of the cost of the recycling operation. If the council tried to store more items, the costs would not fit within the budget.