Forkin' Good with Simon Gault & Kate Fenwick
Simon Gault and Kate Fenwick dish out practical ways to cook better, waste less, and have a cracking yarn about the food we love.
Forkin' Good with Simon Gault & Kate Fenwick
WHAT REALLY HAPPENS TO YOUR RECYCLING!
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In this episode of the Forkin' Good Podcast, Kate takes Simon somewhere very different… behind the scenes of a real life recycling plant.
What they discover is eye-opening.
From contamination and food waste to nappies, batteries, and even hazardous items, this episode reveals what is really happening to the recycling we put on the curb each week.
You’ll learn:
- That up to 30% of recycling is contaminated.
- How entire truckloads can be sent to landfill if we do the wrong thing.
- What actually happens inside a recycling facility.
- The simple mistakes households are making every day.
- How small actions at home can make a huge difference.
This is not about blame. It is about education, awareness, and doing better.
If you’ve ever wondered whether recycling actually works or what happens after your bin is collected, this episode is a must-watch.
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Instagram: @simon_gault
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Youtube: Waste-ed with Kate
Welcome to the Falking Good podcast this week, and I've got a surprise for Simon. He takes me out for lunch. Well, you know, we go dinner and all that sort of stuff. Well, I'm going to take you somewhere today where uh there's lots of food, but you wouldn't want to eat it.
SPEAKER_00So you know, when you throw your rubbish in the bin, we're taking you behind the scenes, well, Kate's taking us behind the scenes to see where it goes and also to see how we can actually make a difference to our planet. When you throw your recycling in there, what are you putting in there? And that's what I'm about to find out, what you're putting in there. So I'm gonna be on you guys out there. Let's go. Come on, take us around. Let's have a look and see what people are really putting in their recycling.
SPEAKER_01You're gonna be surprised, Simon, honestly. Like you can smell it even when you get here. Like, can you smell that?
SPEAKER_00I can smell it here, I'll tell you. And you know, how recycling gets a second life, and the smell I'm smelling is beyond me. But come on, let's go and have a look. Show me.
SPEAKER_01So I've actually invited Christian along today, so we've got an extra guest. Fantastic. And he's from Love from Your Dad. So him and his partner have got two kids and they're sort of documenting their journey. And he reached out to me asking, because he follows me on all my videos, so he wanted to see what goes on. So he asked me if I'd take him for a tour. So I thought, I might as well take two Aucklanders through the Auckland Recycling Plan. Come on then, let's do it. Let's go meet Christian. So here we are at the Auckland Recycling Plant. So run by Regroup. And these are all the trucks coming in that are dropping off the recycling they've collected over the city. And honestly, you're gonna see some stuff. Like, people are not good at recycling, and these guys have about 30% contamination coming through. So that means 30% of it shouldn't even be here to start with.
SPEAKER_02Does that mean the 30% of products that are then contaminated all have to go to landfill? So if it's a truck, is that the full truckload that goes to the tip?
SPEAKER_01Sometimes. So sometimes they can end up sending a full truckload if it's if they've identified there's like a whole lot of nappies, or sometimes like somebody could have put waste oil or something in there, a container of waste oil, it spills out over the recycling, the whole lot goes to landfill. Some people even put like their grass clip grass clippings and stuff in the recycling, and that will be inorganic, so the whole load could go to landfill. But they get some shocking things that are like even hazardous for these truck drivers. And if they asbestos. Oh asbestos, but also like just even lithium batteries, they get a lot of them through recycling and they create fires in the trucks and in a multi-million dollar plant like this and can actually destroy it or shut it down. So people are a little bit lax on the way they A little bit.
SPEAKER_02Wow, yeah. Okay. I'm actually surprised it's not higher, to be fair.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I it's sort of it's quite freaky what people, because they don't realise behind this this whole pile here, human beings whose job is to sort the recycling.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I guess people's uh people's theory these days is oh someone else will deal with it. Not my problem. Chuck it in the bin. We'll let someone out. We're too busy, I don't have time to rinse something, I don't have time to deal with the rubbish, so whatever, chuck it in. And I think a lot of people's thoughts are does it even get dealt with or does it all go to landfill anyway? So chuck it in the bin. Yeah. So it'll be really good to see exactly what can and can't be recycled and how that impact of individual people can cause a knock-on effect for not only the staff here, but obviously massive container loads of potentially recycling, recycling that could be uh given a second life.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And Simon, I mean everybody's heard that myth, oh, it's all going to landfall anyway. Like, like it's it does it doesn't happen, you know, and that's that and I think that's why they disrespect the system.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know? Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02So they don't understand it. No. That's right, lack of education.
SPEAKER_01That's why we're here, right? That's what we're doing. We're getting educated. Uh, let's go have a look at the pile, but you might want to hold your nose.
SPEAKER_00So this is all stuff that can't be recycled. So what happens to them?
SPEAKER_01No, this is the recycling that's come out of the recycling trucks and is waiting to be processed. So this is all the stuff that's come in off the trucks and waiting to be sorted. Yeah. So this is coming out of those trucks. Yeah. So even though, and we can see the amount of rubbish, this is waiting to be processed through the plant. So, straight away, identifying so much waste, this like this is yet to be touched by the humans, you know? Yeah.
SPEAKER_02So we're so cardboard's all good, soft plats' all good, but just not here. Paper's okay, but not small pieces. Yeah. Tins, aluminium, nothing under four, nothing over four litres. Yeah. This carbour box is too big, or is it okay? It just needs to be flattened.
SPEAKER_01It just needs to be flattened, and that would be fine.
SPEAKER_02So, because I guess some people maybe think when it goes into these big trucks, it gets flattened, everything gets squashed, but it doesn't happen.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's come out of a truck and it's not flat.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, okay, so it's not like a rubber truck, they don't compact everything. No, no. They just chuck it in and bring it here.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. And also from so then it's your plastics are one, two, and five, and nothing outside of that. But also a lot of people don't realise when it comes to the plastics, the ones, twos, and fives are only products from your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry that are food, beverage, or cleaner packaging. So anything that's like a a kid's toy or a you know, a plastic systema container or a you know, a jug, a plastic drinking jug, none of that can come out. It's only packaging. Yeah. See, Simon, there's another bag. Shall I have a look in that? Just for shits and giggles. This is a mixed bag. Full of soft plastics, soft plastics.
SPEAKER_02Is that a candle?
SPEAKER_01Oh no, no, it's uh that anything like that, that's just rubbish. I always like a good pizza box to see if there's any. Oh, that's pretty good. That's green. They've done a great job. This here is all just rubbish, like, and they don't even have time to open it because there could be something nasty in there. Look at that's dangerous. Because that could actually, like, that's aluminium, but that could cut somebody as it's coming through the line. But look, tissues. So that that's just uh gross. No tissues. Oh, look at that. That's special. So we got there. Somebody's here.
SPEAKER_02Somebody's been shaving their body or their cat.
SPEAKER_01That's human here. That's human. That's human here.
SPEAKER_02Oh, delicious.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So why would somebody want to be handling that shit? You know, really. That's disgusting.
SPEAKER_00People are eating a lot of packaged food, pre-packet food. That's what I get out of this. There's a bit of gin and tonic being drunk too, because there's quite a few tonic bottles there. It's kind of the voyeur of the rubber shim special, right?
SPEAKER_01Gives you a really good view of consumption. Yeah. Hey, like, exactly what you're saying, Simon. Just seeing consumption. And this is every week. This plant is only closed four hours a day. And that's it. What for what? Just to tidy up. Get a bit of a refresh. They they're running constantly. They deal with 35 tons of recycling an hour processes through the plant, which is unbelievable. 35 tons of rubbish an hour. An hour. And who pays for this? So you're as a rate payer, you're paying for the recycling to be collected from your curb. Yeah. Then it comes to here, and part of like the the deal with these guys is they're they're contracted to collect it and then pro like sort it and then they've got to sell it to make a profit. Right, right.
SPEAKER_02So mostly rates.
SPEAKER_01Rates. But a lot of people, like I love on the like on my social medias, people are saying to me all the time, oh, I pay my rates, you wash it, or you take the lids off. Like they think it's somebody else.
SPEAKER_02And you're like, yeah, great, we can do that, but your rates are gonna go up another 50%.
SPEAKER_0135 tons an hour? Seriously? Look at all the lids.
SPEAKER_02And each individual can't be asked washing and cleaning or doing their part, it's gonna cost more. So if people want to save money on rates, do your part. Yeah. It's not that hard, right?
SPEAKER_01But you know, the actual cost of recycling in your rates, like people say, oh, I pay$4,000 a year in rates. The recycling bill of that is about$2 a week.
SPEAKER_02Oh, right, okay.
SPEAKER_01So for$2 a week, you're getting rid of a whole bin of recycling. Yeah. Expecting a lot more for your$2 a week than taking personal responsibility. Wow. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Okay. What I'm seeing is a lot of milk bottle containers, plastic milk bottles. Remember the day when we had glass bottles that got left at your front door. You know, maybe we need to start thinking about going back to some of those things because those glass bottles are recyclable. But the number of plastic bottles in here that are squashed and a nightmare that have had milk in them is just phenomenal. I can't believe the number of them.
SPEAKER_01Okay, guys, so this is where all the recycling comes in. It's coming through two lines. There's around five staff here full-time pulling off contamination, and you can straight away see it's just nasty. Like all the food, like there's some chips over there. Oh, yeah, but a burger. Like somebody, but see, this is when they talk about it being clean. That there is just absolute rubbish because it might have a number on it, but it's it's if it's covered in food waste, nobody wants that. Like it's not got a market for it, and there's nobody here like opening it up, giving it a rinse. So dealing with 35 tons of recycling an hour. Yeah, that's insane. And the unique thing about Auckland is oh look, there's some glasses. The unique thing about Auckland, see, bring my KFC is their glass comes through here as well and it goes through a different process. There's a nappy. Nappy's polystyrene. Like this is supposed to be clean, recycling, lids off. These guys don't have time to take the lids off. Like it's supposed to be lids off, wash, don't squash. But then don't squash. Yeah, yeah. These here. So these can't go on your recycling bin at all. Yep, they're rubbish the Pringles container. There's a bag. Like these guys just pull all the rubbish off. Wait, that's that there, yeah, Peach, but that there, that's all wet, nasty. See, it's got aluminium in it. If that goes through paper cardboard, that contaminates cardboard. So that's rubbish. Um look. Where's the other one? How do you get a pair of suits? You don't even know where the other two is. That's rubbish. Oh yeah. Pair of pants. Like that there's so much rubbish. Look at this. Like that's rubber. Most of actually a lot of this stuff. Like, see how these guys are working. He's trying to pull it all off. That meat tray. That nobody wants that. That is disgusting. Like, who? Yeah, another nappy. Look at that. That is who would even take, like, look, that is that can't be recycled. Like, that's just filth. This is really bad. Look, it's Uber. As you can see, the speed that this is going through, you these guys can't possibly keep up with all the stuff that needs to be taken out because it's a massive pile. There's so much contamination coming through. That's like a tenth Napiad thing. This just looks like a pile of rubbish.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it does.
SPEAKER_01And it's supposed to be clean recycling, which is just the packaging from your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry. None of this rubbish. Oh. Should we go for lunch now? Let's get out of here. So here, this is where all the stuff that's come out of the sort is starting to flow through the plant. We've got a magnet up here. So the magnet spins and it picks up all the cans through, like obviously a magnet. Yeah. Makes sense, doesn't it? So it pulls it up, and this is where the bigger cans or any other metal products, it can't get pulled off by the magnet. It's only tin cans and aluminium cans. So basically, that's going to pull up the can and it's going to start like it goes through, and there's something that knocks it off into the bin and it goes into a compactor. So where we are here, this is what they call an optical sorter. So an optical sorter is where it's identifying the plastic bottle, and that's why they don't want you to squash them. Because the optical sorter actually identifies the bottle by shape. And so it's a bit hard to see, but in here there's a you can see the little lasers, and the lasers as it so they see. So that's identifying all the the containers. That's identifying all the containers and what where it thinks it should go. Then you can hear that that sound, that's a high-powered air jet or an eddy current that's sending the containers to different parts. So this is where the all the bottles have been compacted into bales. And you can see that one there's a clear one. That's your PETs, so that's your clear plastics. This one's your number two, like it's all milk bottles. So what they've tried to do is they've they've tried to as it's going through the optical, sort it sorting it into that type of plastic. So these are veiled up and then they're ready to go off to the reprocessor.
SPEAKER_02And so how does that work? So you've got people that are willing to buy these, yes, that will then turn it into other solutions.
SPEAKER_01Yes. So funnily enough, like I've been actually doing I'm doing a story on proving that plastic gets recycled because a lot of people have no faith in it. Yeah, yeah. So these sort of products here, the HDPE, that can be made into Marley pipes.
SPEAKER_02Oh yeah. So Marley pipes water drainage. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And then the PETs, that here can be made into a like meat trays, tomato punnets, and things like that. But that's why it's also important that it's clean. Because if this is full of rotten milk, like it would just not only would it stink, but it's nobody wants it. And if we do, like we do export some of our recycling from New Zealand overseas, and if it's contaminated, they don't want it because they don't want our bacteria, our rotten bugs and things like that. And just recently, like we saw the amount of nappies going through. The nappies can end up in paper cardboard, and then the nappies end up being like contaminating a whole entire palette of cardboard, which then the rebuyers don't want to buy. So it's super important that it's clean, otherwise, there's nobody wants it.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, and what about the aluminium? Where does that get re? It gets, does it go down to TY, is it?
SPEAKER_01So most of our most of our aluminium in New Zealand goes offshore and comes back as aluminium cans again. Right, okay. So they could because we don't in New Zealand we're so small.
SPEAKER_02Don't we have a smelter down in in the cargo?
SPEAKER_01They still have that? We've got a few, the three foundries in New Zealand that that melt metal, but most of them are taking metal from the scrap metal guys. Not the not these guys all have big markets that it's set offshore. But it's generally aluminium cans go away and come back as aluminium cans. Yeah. Behind us is where all the glass comes out, so that's sort of where it's ready to go off. We've seen the bales, we've seen all of that stuff. Obviously, just more contamination.
SPEAKER_02So much contamination, it's crazy. I understand now why you go on about it in your videos. I know, so important.
SPEAKER_01I thought I'd make like 30 videos on recycling, I'd been done, and I'd been done. I think I'm at 197 or something. Yeah. And you still, it's hard to get people to understand. And I think it's until you see it, it's hard to believe it, right?
SPEAKER_02Sure. Yeah, there's so much waste, and there's just honestly, the this place is super efficient, but it could be so much better if people did their part. We are wanting to reduce, reuse, recycle, then I think everyone at home really needs to get involved. And it is just that education piece that you've talked about. So listening to the podcast, obviously. Um watching your uh videos on removing plastic lids on not putting shredded paper in small bits and recycling. One, two, and fives. You know, it's now I'm gonna remember it. If you want to do the tour, come along and see Kate. Uh it's really, really valuable and it is so useful and educational. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Couldn't have said it better myself. Well done. Kate, I'm not the best at recycling, but that is unbelievable. I am not that bad. I cannot believe people are putting everything into recycling. It's not recycling, it's rubbish. And then those poor people in there having to sort it out, and then the opportunity to maybe give it a second life is so reduced because we're just a we're not cleaning out containers or meat packs, we're leaving the lids on, and then we're throwing batteries in there that could potentially cause a fire and explode. The the j it's just mind-boggling of all the stuff that people are putting, it's not recycling. Clearly, most New Zealanders are just putting their rubbish in the recycling, probably disguising it a bit and putting a couple of bottles on top, but it's disgraceful. And to just turn around and say, well, that's just you know, that's their job. I mean, come on, they're pulling out needles when they're sorting through it, they're stabbing themselves with needles, dead animals going through there, they had a sheep come through there last week, a kitten earlier on today. I mean, come on, people out there. That is ridiculous. I I'm blown away. And I, you know, Kiwi's net sharpener, it's just horrendous. Oh, exactly. Disgusting. I can't think of any other words. And you could probably see me screwing my face up in there all the whole time. I mean, the smell and all those birds flying around, well, they wouldn't be there if you know, this is supposed to be recycling. Yeah. Not not rubbish, not left over food. You know, the people are throwing, you know, tin containers away that they've blended up a milkshake or a smoothie. They haven't even cleaned it out.
SPEAKER_01I mean, really? It's nuts, eh? And that's the thing, like, you know, I I get so much flack when I talk to people about recycling and show people on the line and all of that. And they just don't they don't believe it. And I think like it's not until you see it. Like you've seen it with your own eyes today. The amount of bags of rubbish coming in, the clothes, the like even when we went over to where the laptops and batteries and that that they've pulled out. Like it's just nuts that it but we call it, it's it's sort of like wish cycling is part of it. They wish it could be recycled so they put it in, or hope cycling, where they hope it can be recycled so they put it in. Yeah, well. You can see a lot of that happening.
SPEAKER_00They're they're living on a prayer, these people. You know, I you know, if you're listening to this podcast, you really should jump on YouTube and watch this because it is horrifying when you see what they're pulling out of what's supposed to be recycling. And if we don't help, the problem is just going to get bigger and bigger and bigger.
SPEAKER_01And did you know, like a lot people expect a lot from they they pay their rates and they go, I pay my rates, so you can clean it or you should do your job. I get done shut up and do your job and take the lids off and all this sort of stuff. They're dealing with 35 tons of recycling coming through. Now you saw it. They don't have time to pull off all the contamination, let alone take a lid off. But also, these guys are like the actual quality of the product coming through, it's filthy. People don't even want to have to rinse it. And when they're talking about rinsing, it's not like a deep clean, it's a quick rinse. So tiny bit of water, quick, done. So that there's no food residue in there. They're not asking a lot. But you know, I think it's hard to believe it until you see it. But also it's hard to believe that people just treat it like that. And I think there's a lot of it's a real lack of knowledge of what can and can't go in, even from the like metal products that we saw. There was bits of wood. Code hangers. Code hangers and stuff. When you had to walk away, because you I thought I I looked at you and thought you were going to vomit for a minute there. Because you can smell something ripe coming through.
SPEAKER_00Okay, the first people I would bring through this facility is kitchen designers. Because as I was walking through, if I I was thinking if I was designing my kitchen again, I would be really having a bunch of bins for my recycling. Yeah. So, you know, I've got one for my lids, one for things that cannot go into recycling, you know, in particular my batteries and all of that sort of thing. And just make it easier to deal with in the kitchen. Because at the home at home I have two bins, one where I kind of put bottles and things, and the other one is my rubbish. And without redesigning my kitchen, you know, I you know, it just makes my life harder. And I imagine there's a lot of people in the same boat. So some kitchen designers getting their heads around how they can assist with recycling in the home kitchen would be really fantastic.
SPEAKER_01Because then you could have like a little soft plastics bin, because soft plastics can be recycled just not through your curbside. Your batteries can be recycled but not through your curbside. Lids can be recycled but not through curbside. Anything metal can be recycled except only tin cans and aluminium cans through your curbside. So every other metal product can go to a scrap metal dealer.
SPEAKER_00And people need to know that you need to be washing these things out. Yes. You know, if you've got a meat tray, yes, it can be recycled if you give it a good clean. And what does that take? Just seconds. Then you've got the cans that could be cleaned out, the bottles could be rinsed, in particular your milk bottles, but remembering to take the lids off and keep those separate. Yeah. It's a minefield.
SPEAKER_01It is a minefield, but once you learn it, it's actually really simple. And the easiest way to explain to people what they can recycle, because everybody says, Oh, you keep telling me what you can't recycle. Well, what you can recycle is one, two, and five plastics from your kitchen, your bathroom, and your laundry. That is food, cleaner, or drink packaging, beverage packaging, basically. So it's packaging. They can't take things like a plastic drawer or a plastic bucket or a washing basket or those plastics, even though it's got a number on it. They can't take that. They take it like basically just packaging. If it's packaging that you use in your kitchen, bathroom, laundry with a one, two, or five on it, those are the plastics you can put in. Not shoes, not clothes, not coat hangers, dead animals.
SPEAKER_00It was unbelievable what was going through there. Uh you know, I couldn't believe it. You know, contracts, magazines.
SPEAKER_01Oh, they'll have condoms. They even get people's sex toys through there sometimes. They'll come up with through a bag of dildos or turn up. Nobody's like, what where are they gonna be recycled? What yeah, who's gonna want those? Who wants those? Oh, I guess some secondhand dildos. Take those home with you. Nice, no. You don't even know where they've been. Oh, yuck.
SPEAKER_00Okay, this is a family show.
SPEAKER_01Oh, is it? Damn it. Yeah, but you know, those sort of things I people just put in. Like just because it looks like plastic, feels like plastic, well, it obviously can be recycled. Yeah. So that's where education is really important. And that's why I wanted to take you on a tour, and we grab Christian as well, but because I want to show I want people to see your reaction to seeing it all happening.
SPEAKER_00Well, they're shocked is the answer. As I said right at the start, you know, I'm not the world's best at recycling, but I ain't that bad. You know, that was pretty horrendous. And if we go creating a little bit of awareness for people at home to understand that just being a little bit more due diligent and caring about your recycling is going to make a big difference to our planet and probably long term to our rates bills. Oh, huge.
SPEAKER_01Because every single bin that they fill up of rubbish from the recycling is costing the ratepayer. And, you know, people want a lot for, you know,$2 a week, which is what they pay for their recycling bin to be emptied and taken away from their house. So expensive. Oh, they're getting a lot.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we're looking at that. They're getting a lot. You know, the amount of manpower and woman power that was going into recycling, well, sorting through what is supposed to be recycling, but in actual fact was just people not caring and throwing all their rubbish in the recycling.
SPEAKER_01It's pretty sad, eh? It is sad. So that's why we've just got to make a difference. And it all starts at home, Simon. You know, like I've I love you've taken me to restaurants, I take you to places where you don't want to eat afterwards, you know. I was having like, should we go for lunch? No. You just want to shower. Yeah, you don't fill up lunch after that, that's for sure. But I think that's that's the best way, is just you know, show we're just showing the thing. Now I've I've been hassling you. Now this one's done. You can relax. Yeah, yeah. You can relax. We've done my recycling content because everybody should know this.
SPEAKER_00Exactly. So subscribe if you'd like to see what's coming next, or hit that like button and all those things. We've got to ask that, right? What or what's next? No more recycling things, huh? Not this, not for a while.
SPEAKER_01No, not for a while. I won't take you to another, but I'll keep on my own content over there. Don't want to depress you.
SPEAKER_00I wonder all those people that make those horrible comments on your social media when you're trying to educate, you could have a special day to bring them along to see it because that might just open their eyes and that might pull their heads in.
SPEAKER_01I could challenge them to be on the line, you know, do a shift.
SPEAKER_00No, these guys are just keyboard warriors, they'll never say it to your face, Kate.
SPEAKER_01Of course, of course they are, you know. Everybody, the only thing people say to your face is, I love your videos. And then you've got all the ones behind who are like, shut up and do your job. And I'm like, I'm actually doing my job. Making videos about how things get recycled, that's part of my job. So that's what I'm doing. Love your work, Kate. You're done, you're doing good. You're doing really good. And so we'll see you guys on the next one where we promise you won't be so revolting.
SPEAKER_00Um if you watch, if you do watch us on YouTube, or have watched it on YouTube because we're at the end, well done. Well done for hanging in there because it was pretty horrendous, right?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and share, share something. Like, share something that you saw or that you were surprised about or something that you learnt. You know, write a comment below. And if you've got any questions, chug your comments below and I'll I'll um answer those as well. Awesome. Well, that's us for another week, Sonna. It is indeed. See you guys next week. Yep, I'm off for a shower. Bye.