Council is committed to getting Marlborough’s waste sorted and you can help – one plastic cap or metal lid at a time.
From early October, you will be able to drop your plastic or metal caps and lids to any regional transfer station, and to the Dump Shop at Wither Road in Blenheim, for recycling.
Council’s Solid Waste Manager Mark Lucas said Council would announce the exact start date of the new recycling service soon but locals could start saving caps and lids now to avoid them going to landfill.
“If we all did this nationally, it could save up to 900 truckloads of waste going to landfill as there are around 16,000 tonnes of caps and lids in circulation in New Zealand every year,” he said.
Plastic or metal caps and lids cannot be recycled as part of Council’s kerbside service in Marlborough.
“Kerbside legislation requires the removal of lids and while a national recycling scheme for the collection of these has been set up through the Packaging Forum, this is focussed on New Zealand’s larger centres due to volumes.
“We have decided to manage this ourselves and have been working towards a locally based solution with our contractor JBL Environmental, Future Post and local scrap metal dealers.
“It makes sense for us to set up our own recycling scheme, particularly with Future Post on our doorstep to help make it happen,” Mr Lucas said.
Collection points are being set up at the Picton, Havelock, Rai Valley, Seddon, Wairau Valley transfer stations and at the Dump Shop in Blenheim. Caps and lids will be accepted at all these locations – people are just asked to separate metal from plastic.
“Plastic lids will be processed by JBL and taken to Future Post who will use them to make fence and vineyard posts and garden frames for households. JBL will also collect the metal lids and drop them to local scrap metal dealers for recycling,” Mr Lucas said.
“We are excited at the prospect of sorting lids and caps here in Marlborough and want to encourage everyone to get behind this scheme. There is no additional cost to ratepayers – just the time it takes to remove the cap or lid and drop them to your nearest transfer station at a convenient time,” he said.
The following plastic caps or lids can be recycled:
- Flip-top/hinged caps
- Screw caps
- Milk bottle caps
- Ice cream container lids
- Yoghurt and dip lids (please do not include the peel-off film)
- Supplement bottle lids
- Household cleaning lids
- Shampoo and cosmetic lids
The following metal lids or caps can be recycled:
- Bottle caps
- Jar lids
- Ring pull caps
- Cap wire from sparkling drinks
- Metal screw top caps
- Aluminium lids
- Wine lids
- Food tin lids
The recycling scheme does not include coffee cup lids, glass lids, pumps or triggers or coffee pods.
