Hundreds of households are continuing to ignore basic recycling rules, prompting authorities to ramp up enforcement measures after softer approaches failed to change behaviour.
In Southland, a three-strike system introduced by WasteNet in March last year has already led to consequences for repeat offenders. Under the policy, properties that receive three red tags for significant contamination lose access to their recycling bins altogether.
So far, 20 properties have reached that threshold and had their bins removed. Of those, just five have taken the step of applying to have their bins reinstated.
From the start of the year through to March 29, inspectors carried out 10,656 bin checks across three council areas. The compliance rate sits at 88%, indicating that the majority of residents are following the guidelines, while a smaller group continues to fall short.
About 5% of the inspections — 488 in total — ended with an orange tag, while 7%, or 782 cases, were serious enough to receive a red tag.
The most common issue spotted during monitoring was soft plastics, followed by organic waste, and then general rubbish or items that were dirty.
Officials say the data highlights an ongoing need for firm enforcement alongside education.
WasteNet director Fiona Walker noted that education alone has not been enough to drive compliance in all cases, pointing to repeated red tags being issued within short timeframes.
“Data collected to-date reinforces the need to have a programme which is based on both education … and enforcement, noting that some residents are not motivated by education alone as demonstrated by repeat red tags being received in a relatively short time period,” Walker said.
There was a positive sign in the report, with contamination rates falling from 17% to 13% compared with the 2023/24 period so far this financial year. As a result, the amount of contaminated recycling being sent to landfill dropped by around 18 tonnes each month.