Upper Hutt gets involved with the Caps and Lids Recycling Scheme

Published on 16 April 2025

Did you know that one in 10 pieces of litter consists of caps and lids? To tackle this, the Caps and Lids Recycling Programme was launched in September 2024, with the goal of recovering these small items and helping protect the environment.

The good news? Upper Hutt is joining the effort!

If you’ve been saving your caps and lids, you can now drop off your plastic and metal caps and lids at Pak'nSave Upper Hutt on Gibbons Street. Look for the designated collection boxes (image below). The red label is for plastic caps and lids, while the grey label is for metal caps and lids.

In February 2024, the Ministry for the Environment introduced changes to the standardised material collection guidelines, which meant that despite being valuable materials, plastic and metal caps and lids were excluded from kerbside collection (Standard Materials for Kerbside Collections Notice 2023 - New Zealand Gazette, section 8).

The recycling programme is funded by organisations that are members of the programme and is managed by the Packaging Forum, which also oversees other initiatives like Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme, Food and Beverage Container Recycling Scheme, and the Glass Packaging Forum Scheme.

Plastic lids are sent to PACT Recycling in Auckland, where they are washed and dried before being shipped to Australia for sorting and recycling. These lids are then turned into new products such as wheelie bins, flowerpots, slipsheets, and cable covers.

Rob Langford, CEO of the Packaging Forum, notes, “Ideally, we would recycle these plastic lids in New Zealand, but we currently lack the infrastructure to separate the plastic types and fully recycle the caps locally. Our best option is to send them to our partner across the Tasman. However, we have full traceability of the material through our Australian recycling partner.”

Please remember: Ensure your caps and lids are clean and dry. Coffee cup lids, lids made of glass, plastic bottles or containers, paper, glass containers, and metal containers are not recyclable through this programme.

For more information about the programme, what items can be recycled, or to find a drop-off location near you, visit: capsandlidsrecycling.co.nz.