In March 2023 the Government announced that for the very first time, there would be a consistent recycling service across the country.

Having standardised recycling rules will make it easier for people to use our kerbside services and get recycling right.

Items no longer accepted in the yellow bin: 

1. Aluminium foil or trays.
   
2. Aerosols (like fly spray or spray deodorant).
   
3. Lids, tops, caps, pumps or trigger sprays.
   
4. Small plastics or papers – For containers, please nothing smaller than a hummus pottle, and when it comes to paper – nothing smaller than a Post-It note. 
5. Large plastics or metal cans – Anything over 4 litres such as large water dispensers, or large olive oil tins. 
6. Plastics 3, 4, 6, and 7 – look for the triangle on a plastic container to see what type it is. 

For more information on the national standardisation programme, see the Ministry for Environment. 

Please note that kerbside standardisation does not apply to Gore District Council as they do not have recycling services currently in place. 

Kerbside recycling is Southland is collected by WasteCo and then received by the team at Recycle South. Once the kerbside recycling is brought to the Recycle South recycling plant in Invercargill it is sorted and put into bales of each type of material. As many recyclable items as logistically possible are then sold – items that would usually be heading for landfill!

There are some items that cannot be put in your yellow kerbside bin but are accepted by Recycle South. Check out their website to see what can be dropped off to their recycling plant in Invercargill.

Here are a few things you can do to take your recycling to the next level!

• Wash but don’t squash your recycling
• Remove lids, tops & caps
• Flatten boxes
• No food-contaminated items please

We do not empty your recycling bin if:

• It has been put out at the wrong time (too late) or was placed incorrectly. 
• It was not your scheduled collection day. Check your collection day here. 
  
• The bin was overfull (open lid) or was too heavy to empty. 
• It contained non-permitted items (contamination). See what cannot go in the yellow recycle bin. 

Check your bin if it has been tagged due to contamination. 

If you have met the collection requirements and your recycling was missed, please report the incident to your local Council. 

• Gore District Council 
• Invercargill City Council 
• Southland District Council 

If we missed collecting your whole street, immediately call your local Council and report the missed collection. 

To make things easier to remember what can go in your recycling bin and how to prepare it we have two stickers to go on your recycling bin – one for the front and one for the inside of your bin. We also have clips for your yellow bin.

You can collect these from reception at Invercargill City Council or Southland District Council. 

We have put together a guide on how to apply the stickers to your bin.  

Here is the bin clip installation guide and video. More information on bin clips can be found in the FAQ page.