Dead animals, swords, prosthetic limbs among weird things Aucklanders try to recycle

Saturday, 21 December 2019

Yuri Schokking, of Smart Environmental, at the opening of the Alchemy recycling sorting system in Richmond. Video first published in December 2019.

Firearms, ammunition, swords, dead animals, chemicals and Christmas trees are just some of the strange things Aucklanders have attempted to recycle this year.

Auckland Council is pleading with residents to be wary of what they recycle, as it reveals some of the weird items found in the yellow-top recycling bins in 2019.

Lego, car parts, flares, barbed wire, tree stumps, golf clubs and home appliances were on the list.

Twelve per cent of what Aucklanders put in their recycling bins ins't recyclable.

However, the contest for the most unexpected items went to those who tried to recycle a samurai sword and an artificial hip joint, environment and climate change committee chair councillor Richard Hills said.

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A samurai sword and an artificial hip joint have taken out the top spot for Auckland Council's weirdest recycled items in 2019.

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Hills admitted recycling may not be a high priority, especially during the busy and stressful Christmas period, but challenged Aucklanders to 'up our recycling game'.

'About 12 per cent of what is picked up from kerbside recycling collections is either non-recylcable items that people incorrectly put in the bin or items that are too contaminated to recycle.'

The mistakes were costly for ratepayers and the environment, as those items would be sent to landfills for disposal, for which a gate fee applies.

Parul Sood, general manager of waste solutions, urged residents to responsibly dispose of flammable and explosive items, including batteries and electronics, as they posed a significant risk to recycling trucks, especially when compaction devices were used.

Ho ho no: Christmas trees cannot be recycled.

Anyone who attempted to recycled prohibited items bubble wrap, plastic bags, ribbons, batteries, food scraps, clothing, footwear, electronics, broken glass, polystyrene and single-use coffee cups should consider themselves an addition to 'Santa's Naughty List'.

Soft plastics could be taken to collection points across Auckland, batteries to specialist battery recyclers, electronics to specialist electronic waste recyclers and polystyrene - including meat trays - to special recycling facilities.

Food scraps could either go in a compost bin, worm farm or bokashi bin. Residents in Papakura and certain areas on the North Shore could put them in their food scraps bin.

Those who only recycled clean glass, aluminium, steel, paper, cardboard and plastic containers with numbers one to seven, would be accepted onto 'Santa's nice list'.

About 15 per cent of the average Aucklander's rubbish bin contents could be recycled, Sood said.

'Taking time to recycle right is a great Christmas gift to our environment and to our economy by supporting those who work in sorting, processing, and recycling these valuable materials.'

Check to see what you can and can't recycle with Auckland Council's Recycle Right game.