Looking for ways to keep your green momentum going and make some new habits during your spring clean-out?
It can be tricky sorting out your items between charity, recycling and landfill, but to get you in the habit of recycling beyond your council collection bin, we have outlined a few common household items that you can recycle for free in New Zealand.
Did you know that TerraCycle accepts items many people assume are non-recyclable, such as toothbrushes, coffee capsules and razors, and turns them into items such as garden beds for schools? Read on for details.
Toothbrushes
Most people will go through about 300 toothbrushes in their lifetime. In an effort to curb the amount of oral care waste heading to landfill, Colgate have partnered with TerraCycle to recycle them for free, plastic bristles and all. This simple recycling solution could save an estimated 30 million plastic toothbrushes from ending up in landfill every year. That’s 900 tonnes of plastic we could save from entering our environment.
Pens
Recycling all your writing instruments has been made easy thanks to TerraCycle and BiC. Simply drop them off at a Community Collection Hub for people in your area. Recycling through this programme could save an estimated 700 tonnes of pens from landfills across the country.
Plastic razors
Kiwis go through millions of disposable razors each year and up until now they have all ended up in landfill because they are too complicated to recycle. Thanks to a new program launched with Gillette, plastic razors and their packaging can now be recycled in Australia for free. You can search for Community Collection Hub on the map or sign up to become one yourself.
Coffee capsules
Research from 2019 revealed that New Zealanders love a caffeine fix: 70 per cent drink at least one coffee per day and 25 per cent have more than one hit. That’s a lot of coffee capsules potentially heading into landfill! Luckily there are several TerraCycle programmes you can recycle through, depending on your preferred brand: Nescafe Dolce Gusto, Lór Moccona, illy & Jed’s or Láffare. All the programs are free – simply join online and download free labels.
For information on how to participate in any of the free recycling programmes mentioned above, head to the TerraCycle website.
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