Government spent $200k on recycling campaign that never aired

The ministry spent $203,968 with Insight Creative to develop ads like this one. (Source: MfE)

Fri, 01 Aug 2025

The Government spent more than $200,000 preparing a national recycling campaign to explain new kerbside rules.But the ads never aired – and household recycling rates have since gone backwards.The campaign was meant to support the rollout of new kerbside recycling standards in February 2024, according to documents released under the Official Information Act (OIA).These rules require all councils to collect the same sets of materials – plastics 1, 2 and 5, tins and cans, glass bottles and jars, and paper and cardboard – and to e...

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