By Kasun Ranga, Glass Packaging Recovery Scheme Manager
The wheels have been turning on our glass packaging recovery efforts here in New Zealand for some twenty years now.
Since the Glass Packaging Recovery Scheme (GPRS) was first formed as the Glass Packaging Forum in 2006 when the national recovery target was 55%, we have gathered great momentum. Currently, our recovery rate of all glass packaging is 66% with the recycling rate of that recovered material being 74% (latest mass balance data for year 2024/5 – refer newly release GPRS accreditation report).
This is a rate we can be proud of. It reflects excellent participation and ambition from all corners of New Zealand to achieve the best glass recovery outcomes.
The GPRS itself, an industry-funded voluntary product stewardship scheme, also enjoys strong support from engaged members across the sector who are eager to work collaboratively to achieve better recycling, as well as carbon reduction outcomes.
This is a strong position. But it’s not enough.
Our goal at GPRS has always been for zero glass packaging to end up in landfill in Aotearoa New Zealand. It’s a goal that everyone should get behind.
Let’s not circle back to it, circle it now
The benefits of glass recycling are indisputable.
We have a valuable and impressive bottle to bottle recycling facility which means we are turning glass bottles collected in New Zealand back into new bottles here, enabling a circular economy that supports our local jobs, manufacturing capability and importantly reduces the amount of waste going to landfill.
Recycled glass also requires less energy to melt than virgin raw materials, reducing carbon emissions and the need to extract new natural resources. Local processing and bottle-to-bottle manufacturing reduces our exposure to international shipping, imported packaging and overseas recycling markets too.
With the pressures of rising manufacturing costs globally, we need to keep improving recovery and efficiency to maintain this onshore recycling.
Instead of manufacturing new glass or sending used glass to landfill, we can recycle it over and over. Infinitely.
So why wouldn’t we?
Moving on up: the next steps to lift our recovery rates
Today the majority of councils have some form of separate glass recycling collection in place.
Every time a council has moved to a glass-separate collection at kerbside (rather than a co-mingled recycling bin), we have seen big lifts in recovery outcomes almost immediately.
Westland District Council recently shifted to glass-separate collection in September 2025, and glass recovery outcomes immediately exceeded expectations. We have seen many times that this switch can lead to high value growing pains for councils (due to the increase in high-quality glass recovery). GPRS was able to step in with a grant to upgrade their glass bunker capacity, to solve this positive infrastructure problem and enable even greater recovery rates going forward.
Over time our glass packaging recovery scheme (which is now open to new applications) has funded projects up and down the country that help to improve glass recovery and support recycling education. We love to hear about the ambition and ideas people have to continue lifting the bar – and where we can, we support them.
Separate glass collection at kerbside is perhaps our most powerful tool for lifting recovery and recyclability rates. But if we zoom into our two biggest population centres – Auckland and Christchurch – the picture is more complicated.
Both councils support only co-mingled glass collection services, significantly devaluing the recyclability of both the glass and other recovered materials through contamination.
It means that in total, separate kerbside glass collection is still unavailable to 46% of New Zealanders.
Significant recovery gains await
It also means that if our two biggest councils updated their collection methods our glass recovery rate and circular economy potential would immediately jump.
A modest forecast estimate based on tonnage and current recycling contamination levels suggests that New Zealand's glass recovery rate could rise from around 70% today to 77–82%, and the recycling rate could increase from 66% to around 73–78% if Auckland and Christchurch City Councils came on board. Optimistically, this could be even higher.
Right now, Christchurch City Council is proposing to investigate the introduction of an additional kerbside bin for glass. Initial public feedback showed 45% in favour of moving forward, 45% against and 10% unsure.
The conversation so far has largely been preoccupied by the idea that introducing another bin might be inconvenient or costly for residents when the conversation should really include how empowering this opportunity is for residents. Individual participation in a fantastic circular economy for glass will become so much easier, and people don’t have to leave their house to do it.
The vast majority of regions around New Zealand are already on board. It’s now time for Christchurch and Auckland to do their part so we can all be proud of our glass recycling success story.
Residents of Christchurch and Auckland are now in the driver’s seat for the future of our glass recovery rate. We have been stuck in the same gear for some time now. Will they move us up?