Resources & Sources
New Zealander’s send more than three and a half million tonnes of ‘rubbish’ to landfill every year. This would fill an area about the size of a rugby field – 30 stories high! Problem is much of it is not rubbish but resources that can be put to good use. About two-thirds – or 20 stories of it – we could recycle or compost. Of the total volume of materials going to landfill about 20% of it is paper and cardboard, about 10% plastic, nearly 7% metals (with a portion of this aluminium and tin cans) and about 3% glass.
We’re running out of space for landfills and they cost a lot of money to manage and to look after once they are closed. Over half of the District Councils in New Zealand have adopted a goal of zero waste. It’s an important goal that has economic, environmental and social benefits.
No community wants a landfill nearby, but all of them appreciate the jobs created by recycling – about six jobs in recycling vs one in landfilling per given volume of waste.
We now recycle 70% of our aluminium, half our paper, 45% of our glass, 30% of our steel, and 18% of our plastics. So we’re making progress … but we still have a long way to go.
Click on any of the following for more information on the items All Brite helps to recycle and details on how much we handle each year:
For information on the environmental benefits of recycling versus making products from virgin materials, check out our Processing Recovered Materials section.
