What do the plastic recycling numbers mean?

1. Overview

When you buy something in plastic, it should have a triangle with a number inside it. This indicates what type of plastic it is, and helps us to determine what can and can't be recycled. In Palmy, we only collect plastic numbers 1, 2 and 5.

It can be really hard to tell from holding an item what it's made of, and we know that can make recycling very confusing – but we love that you've come to this page to find out how to do the right thing.

Click 'Next' for a brief explanation of what the numbers are, what plastic materials they are, and what common items you use might be made of them. It also says where they currently go once we've emptied your wheelie bin.

Glass that once contained food or drink, aluminium, tin, paper and cardboard are all sorted at our Awapuni Resource Recovery Centre and recycled here in NZ.

2. Recycle plastic numbers 1, 2 and 5

Put items with these numbers in your orange-lid wheelie bin, or drop them off at one of our recycling centres.

Number 1: Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)

Collected, sorted at our Awapuni Resource Recovery Centre and then recycled in NZ.

Items include:

fruit and vege punnets
soft drink and water bottles
harder plastic containers that hold spreads like peanut butter and mayonnaise.

Number 2: High-density polyethylene (HDPE)

Collected, sorted at our Awapuni Resource Recovery Centre and then recycled in Palmy.

milk bottles
juice bottles
shampoo bottles
cleaning bottles.

Number 5: Polypropylene (PP)

Collected, sorted at our Awapuni Resource Recovery Centre and then recycled in Palmy.

some takeaway containers
plastic cutlery
2l ice cream containers
large yoghurt containers.

3. Numbers 3, 4, 6 and 7 not accepted for recycling

We can't recycle plastic with the numbers 3, 4, 6 or 7. Please put items with these numbers in your rubbish bag.

Plastic recycling changes

Plastic recycling has changed in Palmy, and that affects what you can put in your orange-lid wheelie bin. Now we only collect plastic with the numbers 1, 2 and 5.

Plastic with the numbers 3, 4,6 and 7 is no longer collected for recycling

Previously these plastics were sent overseas but over the past few years we haven't been able to find a market for them. We've been storing this recycling at our Awapuni Resource Recovery Centre but we can't continue to do this long term for health and safety reasons.

Council agreed to stop collecting these items following a public consultation in 2020. The changes came into effect in May 2021.

These numbers only make up a tiny fraction of your wheelie bin

These numbers make up around five per cent of the average residential wheelie bin and weigh between 400g-1kg each fortnight, so don't have a significant impact on people's rubbish services.

All other glass and wheelie bin recycling is still collected and recycled here in New Zealand.

The changes to what we accept also affect our drop-off stations at Ashhurst, Ferguson Street and Awapuni.

These numbers contain some everyday items

One of the biggest areas for change is in your fridge. Some sour cream, cottage cheese, cream cheese containers and six-pack pottle yoghurts are made of plastics we don't collect any more. While the small pottles of yoghurt are not recyclable, the 1 litre tubs are a different plastic number (5) and are still recyclable in the city. This means you can portion yoghurt into smaller re-usable containers to reduce waste.

Other items affected include some clear trays for holding food or takeaways, some large cleaning bottles with sturdy handles, packaging for electronics and batteries, some meat trays, some squeezy sauce bottles, plastic bags, bubble wrap, foam cups, protective packaging and harder plastics for baby bottles, cups and toys.

Make sustainable choices

Use your purchasing power when buying packaged goods. When you're shopping, opt for items with packaging with a 1, 2 or 5 that can be recycled here in New Zealand.

Why not write to your favourite companies and ask them to convert their packaging into materials that can be recycled locally?

And keep an eye on our website for more tips about how you can make more environmentally friendly choices and reduce your waste.

Number 3: Polyvinyl chloride (PVC)

We can't recycle plastic with this number and don't collect it. Please place in your rubbish bag instead.