We've been working with residents to reduce recycling contamination because it's an issue that costs all of us: financially via rates (November 2022 saw contamination fines exceeding $30,000!), and environmentally, as it’s possible that contaminated recycling could end up in the landfill.
Thanks to our community taking the time to recycle properly, we've been making real progress in reducing contamination, which is a real win for the city. There's still a lot of mahi to be done here, but we're getting there!
Remember: When something like a nappy, polystyrene or soft plastic ends up in recycling, one of the team at Oji Fibre Solutions in Seaview needs to pick it out for you.
We use a sticker system to let you know if there was a problem with the contents of your bin:
Orange sticker - Minor issue warning, we still emptied your bin this time
What it means:
We noticed a small issue, but we still emptied your bin.
This sticker does not count towards the 3-strikes removal policy.
What to do now:
Check the note on the sticker - common issues include soft plastics or dirty food containers in your recycling bin, over-filled rubbish bins, or one of the bins couldn't be accessed by our truck.
Check which bin items can go in with our What goes in the bins lookup tool.
Red sticker - Problem items found, your bin has not been emptied
What it means:
Strike 1: A red sticker indicating what shouldn't have been in your recycling bin
Strike 2: A red sticker, a warning letter, and an informational magnet are provided
Strike 3: Recycling bin removed
What to do now:
Remove the non-recyclable items and dispose of them in your rubbish instead.
Put your recycling out again on your next scheduled recycling day.
Check which bin items can go in with our What goes in the bins lookup tool.
Common issues & quick fixes
- Bagged recycling → Tip everything in loose; no bags or soft plastics.
- Dirty containers → Empty, rinse, and dry before putting in the bin.
- Greasy cardboard → If food is stuck to it, it’s rubbish, not recycling.
- Lids on glass → Take lids off; glass bottles & jars only in crates.
- Overweight bins → Spread heavy items over future collections or use landfill.
- Placement → Out by 6am, wheels towards the kerb, 30cm between bins, 1m from cars/poles/trees.
Sticker FAQs
We don’t want to remove recycling bins – we’d love it if everyone recycled properly!
However, a recycling bin that is too contaminated increases costs for everyone, and can lead to a lot of good recycling getting sent to landfill. That’s too wasteful for us, it wastes everyone else’s amazing recycling efforts, and costs us all money via increased rates.
These red stickers help us to measure which yellow-lid recycling bins are sending contamination to landfill and ruining Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt’s recycling mahi.
This means:
- Less recycling sent to landfill
- The Silverstream Landfill doesn’t fill up as quickly
- A more eco-savvy Te Awa Kairangi ki Tai Lower Hutt
- Less money – or preferably no money! – spent on contamination penalty charges
If a recycling bin is found to have too many non-accepted items or materials inside, we’ll give it a red sticker on collection day.
Most bins get the green sticker, which thanks people for their amazing recycling mahi. The orange sticker lets people know that not everything in their recycling bin was acceptable. The red sticker is for when the bin is too contaminated to be collected.
After two red stickers, if a yellow-lid recycling bin is found to be contaminated again, it gets removed by the bin collection team.
To make sure your recycling bin doesn’t get removed, be sure to read about what goes into your recycling bin here.
- Soft plastics & plastic bags (including bagged recycling)
- Food scraps and liquids (e.g., half-full drink bottles)
- Nappies, textiles, garden waste
- Polystyrene, foam packaging
- Dirty/greasy items (e.g., oily pizza boxes)
- Lids on glass jars and bottles
- Lightbulbs
- Cookware
- Window glass
- Any other non-glass items
If your bin is removed, you can appeal the decision or apply for reinstatement after 6 months.
- Appeal a removal: Bin Removal Appeal Form
- You can request reinstatement (after 6 months if appeal fails) by contacting us
Timeframes: Appeals are typically reviewed in 10 working days.
When a bin is heavily contaminated, it may be removed without warning.
This is to protect the health and safety of the recycling plant team, who sort your recycling by hand.
Examples of severe contamination include dead animals, syringes and needles, large amounts of food waste, sanitary products, adult incontinence products, and any other hazardous biohazard substances.
If there are new owners or the tenancy changes, you can request for the bins to be delivered and the service to be reinstated. Please email waste@huttcity.govt.nz
You can take cardboard and glass to Waste Management’s Seaview Transfer Station free-of-charge. You can also upsize your recycling bin to a 240L or obtain a second blue crate if you find that your current recycling bin is repeatedly too small.
