Half of our plastics and paper recycling is shipped overseas, new data reveals

Half of our plastics and paper recycling is shipped overseas, new data reveals
EcoCentral is one of NZ's 14 materials recovery facilities. (Image: EcoCentral)
Cécile Meier
This story is part of BusinessDesk's Waste is Money series.Aotearoa ships about half of its plastics and paper recycling overseas, new data from the waste industry reveals.The Waste & Recycling Forum collected data from its nine members, which together handle the bulk of the country’s municipal waste and rubbish from hundreds of thousands of commercial clients. The businesses recycled 8% (or 521,308 tonnes) out of the six million tonnes of rubbish they collected in 2022. The rest was sent to landfill (5.1 million tonnes, or 8...

More Infrastructure

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown launches tech alliance
Policy

Auckland Mayor Wayne Brown launches tech alliance

Brown wants a focus on meaningful tech that creates high-paid jobs.

Budget 2025: Rail rolls on with $600m for upgrades
Infrastructure

Budget 2025: Rail rolls on with $600m for upgrades

Ministers Winston Peters and Chris Bishop talked up benefits for freight, commuters.

LPC expects freight bump from Aratere retirement
Policy

LPC expects freight bump from Aratere retirement

KiwiRail expects to farewell its only rail-enabled ferry by Aug 30 at the latest.

'Strong appetite' for Cook Strait ferry services
Infrastructure

'Strong appetite' for Cook Strait ferry services

Some of the biggest European operators expressed interest in NZ ferry opportunity. 

Oliver Lewis 19 May 2025