The focus of recycling in New Zealand is often concentrated on kerbside or public place recycling, yet the hospitality industry is a significant consumer of wine, beer and non-alcoholic beverages in glass bottles.
Time-poor and often transient staff, combined with a lack of space for recycling bins, means the hospitality sector generally has low recovery rates for glass. But it doesn’t need to be that way!
GPF is working collaboratively with Hospitality New Zealand, which has over 2,600 members.
We know the industry is keen to do the right thing and wants to be both responsible hosts and responsible for their environmental impact.
GPF scheme managers, 3R Group, are talking with individual operators, hospitality hubs and the wider sector about how to manage the impact of packaging. We can show you just how easy it can be to recycle at your establishment.
Research shows that millennials (the main stay of many bars’ clients and workforce) love companies that care about the environment. Glass has a great sustainability story, so be part of the solution.
Who picks up glass in my area?
Contact your local council customer call centre or Waste Minimisation Officer. They will direct you to local operators.
What happens to my glass?
What happens to glass put out for recycling depends greatly on location. The ideal outcome for glass is to return to the furnace to make new containers and the Forum works with councils, waste management companies and recyclers to maximise this.
However, the combination of the challenging logistics in our long, narrow country and other cost and quality considerations means it’s not always possible to recycle all recovered glass. Fortunately, glass can also be used in a number of other applications, like sports turf and golf bunkers, base course for roading and decorative paving stones. These are good secondary outcomes for glass and preferable to sending glass to landfill.
To find out exactly what happens to your glass you would need to contact the company collecting it.
I see the truck pick up my separated recycling and mix it all together.
There is no standard collection process for recycling across New Zealand. We suggest you speak to your contractor on their glass recycling requirements. The best outcome for glass is for it to be colour sorted and then sent for recycling.
I can’t find someone to provide me with glass recycling bins.
Commercial glass recycling systems are in place across much of New Zealand but unfortunately some areas do not have access to this. Talk to your council to see if you can access glass recycling at the local refuse transfer station.
Can I have consumer info about glass recycling to put into my hotel compendium?
Suggested compendium insert:
We recycle all glass bottles and jars.
The best environmental outcome for container glass is for it to go “back to the furnace” to make new bottles and jars. In New Zealand this is at Visy Glass in Auckland.
Returning glass to the furnace reduces the volume of virgin materials required in the production process, plus recycled glass can be melted at a lower temperature than virgin materials and so requires less energy. This in turn means lower carbon emissions.
Where this is not possible, glass can be used for a variety of other uses, such as golf bunkers, base course for roading, agricultural mulch and decorative paving stones.
So please remember to put your glass in the recycling bin provided and help us protect our environment.
How can we tap into the soft plastics recycling scheme commercially?
The Soft Plastics recycling programme is run by The Packaging Forum. You will find their contact details on their website.