Recycling Week 2026

Join in on Recycling Week

All this week from 19–25 October, we’re joining people and organisations across New Zealand to reduce waste and recycle better.

Each day this week, we’ll share a simple challenge and something to think about to help you reduce your personal or organisation’s waste footprint — and how much we send to landfill.

Whether you’re at home, work or school, join in, share your ideas and encourage others to take part. Small changes to what we buy, use, reuse and throw away can add up.

Procurement Monday

Reducing waste starts with what we buy. Recycling helps, but the best option is to avoid creating waste in the first place.

Today’s challenge: take a fresh look at what you buy at home or work — including the packaging.

🛒 Do you need it, or could you use what you already have?

📦 Could you choose an option with less packaging?

🔧 Can it be reused, repaired, repurposed or recycled?

Choose products that last and look for opportunities to phase out unnecessary or single-use items.

What’s one change you could make today?

Waste-Free Tuesday

Say no to waste! The best way to reduce what we send to landfill is to avoid creating waste in the first place.

Today’s challenge: before buying something new, ask yourself:

🛒 Do I really need it?

🤝 Could I borrow it?

♻️ Could I buy it second-hand?

Whether at home or work, buying only what we need saves resources, reduces waste and can save money too.

What’s one thing you could borrow instead of buying?

Reusable Wednesday

Choose reusables and make the most of what you already have! Reusing, repairing and repurposing items saves resources, can save money and helps keep waste out of landfill.

Today’s challenge: at home or work, find something you can use again, fix or give a new purpose.

☕ Bring a reusable cup, drink bottle or lunch container.

🔧 Repair an item instead of replacing it.

🫙 Reuse jars and containers for storage.

👕 Turn worn-out clothing into cleaning cloths.

Before throwing something away, ask: could it still be useful?

Rinse and Clean Thursday

Help give your recycling another life! Taking a moment to prepare it properly helps keep recyclable materials out of landfill.

Today’s challenge: check before you chuck.

💧 Empty and rinse bottles, jars and containers to remove food and drink.

✅ Remove all tops and lids.

🔍 Put each item in the correct bin

♻️ Recycle plastic containers numbered 1, 2 and 5 only.

🗑️ Plastics numbered 3, 4, 6 and 7 go in the rubbish.

Contaminated recycling can be sent to landfill, wasting both the materials and the effort people put into recycling.

At home or work, a quick rinse and the right bin can make a difference!

Reflection Friday

Small changes are worth keeping! Today is a chance to reflect on what you’ve learned this week and commit to reducing waste at home or work.

Think about:

🛒 What could you buy less of?

🔧 What could you reuse, repair or repurpose?

♻️ Are you rinsing recyclables, removing lids and putting items in the right bins?

Recycling right helps keep useful materials out of landfill. Avoiding waste in the first place takes that effort even further.

Today’s challenge: choose one waste minimisation habit you can stick with beyond Recycling Week.

Spring Clean Weekend

Take a fresh look around your home — what could be reused, repaired, recovered or repurposed?

Today’s challenge: find items and materials you could keep out of the rubbish.

🔧 Could something broken be repaired?

🫙 Could a container be reused or repurposed?

👕 Could an unwanted item be passed on to someone else?

♻️ Could useful materials be recovered through recycling?

Making better use of what we already have saves resources, can save money and reduces what we send to landfill.

Put what you’ve learned at work or school into practice at home. Choose one waste-saving habit to make part of everyday life.