Dive deeper: plastic bottles

What's the problem?

Watch these

Know Your Plastics — Good
Recycling by region — recycle.co.nz
How recycling works — Auckland Council
Life in a recycling unit in New Zealand — Thumbs Up New Zealand
Where your plastic bottles ends up — Ted Ed

Read this

Stuff: New Zealand could be the first country in the world to ban plastic bottles, Greenpeace says.

RNZ: 1.7 Billion plastic containers thrown in bins each year, WasteMINZ research shows.

Greenpeace: Ban plastic bottles.

We might have grown tired of hearing about them, but five million packaged drinks are still consumed by New Zealanders every day. On average, that’s one per person per day! New Zealand’s recycling system isn’t great, meaning that some of those bottles end up in landfills, or escape to our waterways and oceans. We all know what happens then. The plastic breaks down into microplastics, which are then eaten by marine animals.

The facts

Source

181 million plastic containers lack visual information on whether they are recyclable or not.
258 million containers are made from coloured plastic, making it impossible to recycle them into a like-for-like item. Instead, they will be downcycled into bins or pallets, which may not be recycled again.
46 million containers are covered in plastic sleeves, which prevents them from being recycled in the right way.

Small changes for big impact

Change your habits

Single-use plastic bottles are out, but carrying a refillable water bottle is in! Use the Refill NZ app to find a nearby water refill station.

If you need to get yourself a good-quality water bottle, check out our range here.

Keen for something other than water? Try looking for glass bottles or a can first! If a plastic bottle is your only option, make sure you know your recycling labels and only buy bottles that can be recycled! Remember, recycling should always be your last resort!