From 1 February 2024, territorial authorities are required to standardise the materials they accept in council-managed kerbside recycling, food scraps, and food organics and garden organics collections. The requirements were initially published in the New Zealand Gazette on 13 September 2023. These were replaced by Notice No. 2 on 3 September 2026 introducing a 1,000 population urban threshold and an exemption process. Read the full gazette notice.
This guidance document provides further detail and examples of the kerbside standard materials to support territorial authorities, brands, retailers and manufacturers to implement and communicate the new requirements.
The guidance was updated in 2026 to include information about the urban threshold, exemption process and trialling the collection of a non-standard material in kerbside recycling.
See the Trialling collection of a non-standard material in kerbside recycling: Planning template
If you have questions about the kerbside standard materials requirements, please email transformingrecycling@mfe.govt.nz.
From 1 February 2024, territorial authorities are required to standardise the materials they accept in council-managed kerbside recycling, food scraps, and food organics and garden organics collections. The requirements were initially published in the New Zealand Gazette on 13 September 2023. These were replaced by Notice No. 2 on 3 September 2026 introducing a 1,000 population urban threshold and an exemption process. Read the full gazette notice.
This guidance document provides further detail and examples of the kerbside standard materials to support territorial authorities, brands, retailers and manufacturers to implement and communicate the new requirements.
The guidance was updated in 2026 to include information about the urban threshold, exemption process and trialling the collection of a non-standard material in kerbside recycling.
See the Trialling collection of a non-standard material in kerbside recycling: Planning template
If you have questions about the kerbside standard materials requirements, please email transformingrecycling@mfe.govt.nz.