Southland's recycling contamination rate has dropped, but 811 tonnes of recyclables still ended up in landfill last year. That's $309,639 worth of waste — at the current general waste fee — that could have been recycled.
The contamination rate across kerbside recycling and public drop-off fell to 13% for the last financial year, down from 18% in 2023/24. WasteNet director Paul Mooney called it a "noticeable improvement" and credited the benefit of the inspections for the shift.
More than 22,000 recycling bins have been inspected across Southland since the start of the year. The main culprits turning up in the wrong bins: soft plastics, organic waste, metal, electronics, wood, general rubbish and dirty items.
A three-strike system operates across Invercargill City Council, Southland District Council and Gore District Council. Get caught with contamination multiple times and you lose your bin — and have to apply to get it back. Since the initiative began, 29 properties have lost their bin. Only nine have bothered applying for reinstatement.
WasteNet is now tightening the rules further. Under the proposed change, people will lose their bin for accumulating three red tags across two calendar years rather than one — meaning repeat offenders get less room to move.
Mooney told Waste Advisory Group representatives on Monday that some contamination had been raised through recent inspections, but the 15% target was still manageable. At 13%, Southland is sitting below that threshold — though the gap between a percentage point and a landfill truck is narrower than it sounds.