Greasy pizza boxes, broken wine glasses, old TVs or computer, what can and can't be recycled
The amount of waste Kiwis produce spikes during the holiday season and when it comes to where we're throwing it all, many of us are getting it very wrong. "The latest we had was a samurai sword in the recycling bin and prosthetic limbs." said Parul Sood, General Manager of Solid Waste at Auckland Council. Auckland's waste increases by around 9 percent over the holiday period but when it comes to recycling, some of us are just being lazy. "If you're putting nappies and food waste in your bin, clearly that's not meant to be there." Ms Sood said.
Much of what ends up in our bins is "wishcycling", which is throwing unsuitable material into recycling bins and hoping it'll avoid the landfill. "Where you've put an X Box console in thinking someone might use it, but it can create a fire - and that entire truckload, if it's got fire, has to be dumped in a landfill." The message from Auckland Council is clear - your recycling bin is for clean household packaging only. Bottles that can be recyclable should be rinsed. In Auckland, the lid should be left on, but some councils prefer the lid off. If you can, it's best to take the label off the item you are recycling, but processing plants can remove the labels too. Pizza boxes can be recycled, even if there is grease present. "You just need to check there's no food, no cheese, grease is fine." Household items like broken wine glasses and plastics that aren't part of food packaging, can't go in your home recycling bin. But some of these items can be recycled elsewhere. Go Recycle in west Auckland, will even pay you for it. It's owner, Toni Moros will take toasters, microwaves, fridges and freezers. "Metal in particular, pots and pans, car batteries that contain lead. We pay for that sort of stuff." Ms Moros says. You can even get rid of your old computers and cellphones for free. "All the time we get people coming in asking what we can recycle and there's a lot of people surprised by what we do take." she says. So there are other options to avoid nasty surprises for those emptying your bins.
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Best way to use leftovers?
I'm sure you've got some excess ham at home or cold roast potatoes.
What are some of your favourite ways to use leftover food from Christmas day? Share below.
⚠️ DOGS DIE IN HOT CARS. If you love them, don't leave them. ⚠️
It's a message we share time and time again, and this year, we're calling on you to help us spread that message further.
Did you know that calls to SPCA about dogs left inside hot cars made up a whopping 11% of all welfare calls last summer? This is a completely preventable issue, and one which is causing hundreds of dogs (often loved pets) to suffer.
Here are some quick facts to share with the dog owners in your life:
👉 The temperature inside a car can heat to over 50°C in less than 15 minutes.
👉 Parking in the shade and cracking windows does little to help on a warm day. Dogs rely on panting to keep cool, which they can't do in a hot car.
👉 This puts dogs at a high risk of heatstroke - a serious condition for dogs, with a mortality rate between 39%-50%.
👉 It is an offence under the Animal Welfare Act to leave a dog in a hot vehicle if they are showing signs of heat stress. You can be fined, and prosecuted.
SPCA has created downloadable resources to help you spread the message even further. Posters, a flyer, and a social media tile can be downloaded from our website here: www.spca.nz...
We encourage you to use these - and ask your local businesses to display the posters if they can. Flyers can be kept in your car and handed out as needed.
This is a community problem, and one we cannot solve alone. Help us to prevent more tragedies this summer by sharing this post.
On behalf of the animals - thank you ❤️
Poll: Would you rather: Christmas in summer forever or winter forever?
Just a bit of a fun poll to get you thinking.
If you had to live out your Christmas days, would you prefer it was a summer Christmas or a winter Christmas?
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61.8% Summer
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36.7% Winter
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1.5% Other - I'll share below
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