Recycling a threat to wineries

Photo / NZ Herald

The inefficient recycling of New Zealand's glass could see jobs sent overseas, especially in the wine industry.

A Business Council for Sustainable Development report released this week highlighted that up to 70 per cent of the glass put in kerbside bins was not being remade into bottles and jars.

Around 66 per cent of glass was recycled in New Zealand but only half of it was turned back into bottles. The other half was turned into low-value products, such as aggregate. The glass which was not recycled ended up in landfill or was sent overseas for reprocessing.

A low recovery rate in recycling meant greater emissions from glass-making. This undermined New Zealand's wine industry, because international markets increasingly demanded eco-friendly packaging.

Villa Maria executive director Fabian Yukich said they could eventually be forced to get their wine bottled overseas.

"There is big pressure on us from European markets to send wine over to market and bottle it and mark it, because they say we're reducing emissions by not transporting glass."

Because New Zealand wine had to travel long distances to its markets, it was important that winemakers reduced emissions in as many ways as possible. One of these was by improving the percentage of glass recovered in recycling.

Some packaging experts believed the low percentage of recovery was the result of co-mingling paper, glass, plastic and other recyclable waste in kerbside collections.

The Auckland City Council, with five other councils, opted to co-mingle because a single recycling bin lowered council costs and improved health and safety for glass collectors.

Auckland's recycling processes are likely to be reviewed after the formation of the Super City. The Herald understands a return to multiple recycling bins, with separate bins for glass and other recyclables, could be on the cards.

JARRING REALITY

* 66.2pc of glass bottles and jars is recycled every year.
* Half of this goes back into bottles, half into lower-value purposes like aggregate.
* The non-recycled glass goes into landfill or is sent overseas for reprocessing.
* A low percentage of recycling means a higher amount of emissions in producing glass.