Nelson will be the first place in New Zealand to have their soft plastics collected from outside their homes as of today, with up to 1000 households participating in a trial.
Enviro NZ will be collecting the filled orange bags from residents in around 140 streets, which will be baled and taken to Future Post in Blenheim to be recycled.
“This step up to a kerbside recycling service has the advantage of being much more convenient than taking soft plastics to a recycling bin in a store,” said Nelson Mayor Nick Smith.
The trial is being run by The Packaging Forum – which operates the Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme nationwide – and while it is supported by the Nelson City Council it is not a part of their regular kerbside recycling collection.
“We know from our international colleagues and trials which have taken place in the UK and Australia that the easier you make it for consumers to recycle, the more material we collect and can place back in the recycling and circular economy,” says Soft Plastic Scheme manager Lyn Mayes.
The soft plastic will be recycled into fence posts for vineyards and farms, as well as garden beds.
“My hope is that we can make a success of this 1,000-home trial so a kerbside collection service can be expanded throughout Nelson and then New Zealand,” said Smith.
The purpose of the trial is to explore the viability of recycling soft plastic packaging at kerbside, and whether this collection model is economically viable and deliverable at scale.
Trial bags are to be placed kerbside in blue glass crates, and any remaining households will have their bags collected tomorrow.
All soft plastic placed must be clean and dry to avoid contamination and households not part of the trial are encouraged to keep utilising the soft plastic recycling bins located in various New World, Woolworths and The Warehouse stores.
