For years, what you could put in your recycling bin depended entirely on where you lived. A yoghurt pottle might be accepted in one town and refused next door, which left a lot of us confused and guessing. To fix that, the Government has rolled out a standardised kerbside collection system across New Zealand, giving every council the same core list of what goes in each bin. The aim is simple: less contamination, more material actually getting recycled, and far less guesswork for households.

Under the new system the colours and their jobs are consistent nationwide. The yellow bin (or crate) is for recycling, the red bin is for general rubbish that goes to landfill, and the green bin is for food scraps and sometimes garden waste, depending on your area. Glass is often collected separately in its own crate so it doesn't shatter and contaminate paper and cardboard. The big change is that the accepted recycling list is now standard everywhere, so a clean container that's recyclable in Auckland is recyclable in Invercargill too.

For your yellow bin, the standardised list covers the items that genuinely have reliable markets here: plastic bottles and containers marked 1, 2 and 5; aluminium and steel tins and cans; paper and cardboard; and glass bottles and jars (usually in the separate glass crate). Just as important is what stays out. Plastics marked 3, 4, 6 and 7, soft plastics like bread bags and wrappers, lids smaller than your palm, and anything food-soiled should not go in the yellow bin. Rinse containers, leave them loose rather than bagged, and keep them empty and dry.

The most common mistakes are easy to avoid once you know them. Don't bag your recycling in plastic — tip it in loose. Don't "wish-cycle" by tossing in something you hope is recyclable, because contamination can send a whole truckload to landfill. Soft plastics don't belong at the kerb, but many supermarkets host the Soft Plastics Recycling collection bins, so save them up and drop them off. Food scraps go in the green bin where your area provides one, which keeps them out of landfill and reduces harmful methane.

Because the rollout is happening over time, not every council offers every bin yet — green food-scraps collections in particular are still being introduced in many regions. Collection days, bin sizes and whether glass is separate can also vary. The safest move is to check your local council website for your exact setup, or look for the labels printed on your bins, which now follow the national standard.

The takeaway is reassuring: recycling is becoming simpler and more consistent right across the motu. Stick to bottles, containers, tins, cans, paper, cardboard and glass — clean, empty and loose — keep soft plastics for the supermarket drop-off, and pop food scraps in the green bin if you have one. Get those basics right and you'll be doing your bit with confidence, wherever in New Zealand you live.