Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme

The Packaging Forum’s soft plastic recycling scheme is now available in 16 locations spread throughout the district, including: Thames, Tairua, Coromandel Town, Whangamatā, Whitianga and Pāuanui. (The Council's and Seagull Centre's collections are funded through Council's Waste Levy fund.)

This scheme promotes the recycling of household volumes soft plastic recycling using community collection bins. The soft plastics will then be turned into fence posts or building materials.

WM New Zealand collects the soft plastics and bales the plastic ready to transport either to Future Post in Tuakau (where the product will be made into plastic fence posts) or saveBOARD in Hamilton (where it will be made into building materials).

For more information on the scheme nationally please visit Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme | Home

If you are a business and would like a commercial collection arrangement for your soft plastics, please contact a local waste collection company directly.

As mentioned on the Soft Plastics Recycling Scheme | Home website, this scheme accepts the following:

  • Bread, pasta & rice bags
  • Bubble wrap and large sheets of plastic cut into pieces the size of an A3 sheet of paper first
  • Cereal box liners
  • Chocolate & muesli bar wrappers and biscuit packets (wrapper only)
  • Cling film which is clean - and please make sure it is LDPE (resin 4)
  • Coffee & Tea bags (light foil lining)
  • Confectionery wrap; chip packets with light foil
  • Courier packs
  • Dairy wrappers
  • Dry dog food bags
  • Fresh produce bags and netting citrus bags
  • Frozen food bags (frozen vegetable, fries, burgers, nuggets, poultry etc.)
  • Garden potting mix bags
  • Ice pack bags – (empty and dry)
  • Newspaper wrap
  • Plastic packaging around toilet paper, kitchen towels, nappies and sanitary products
  • Polyethylene bags / Polypropylene reusable bags
  • Toothpaste tubes – empty with lid on

Volumes collected

Since the scheme started, the volumes of soft plastics collected in our district through all the participating venues are:

  • June 2025 – September 2025: 7.24 tonnes
  • Feb 2025 – May 2025: 7.35 tonnes 
  • October 2024 – 2025: 8.37 tonnes 
  • July 2024 – September 2024: 4.74 tonnes 
  • April 2024 – June 2024: 4.596 tonnes
  • Dec 2023 – March 2024: 4.176 tonnes
  • April 2023 – Nov 2023: 9.18 tonnes
  • July 2022 – March 2023: 5.58 tonnes

     

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Where can I find these community bins?

Thames

  • Pak’nSave
  • The Warehouse
  • Thames Council Office
  • Seagull Centre
  • Thames Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station

Coromandel Town

  • Coromandel Town Council Office
  • Coromandel Town Four Square

Whangamatā

  • New World Whangamatā
  • Council office Whangamatā 
  • Whangamatā Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station

Whitianga

  • New World Whitianga 
  • Countdown Whitianga 
  • The Warehouse Whitianga
  • Council office Whitianga
  • Whitianga Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station

Tairua

  • Tairua Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station

Pāuanui

  • Pāuanui Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station
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