For the last for the last year, we’ve had fabulous volunteers coming into ENM every Thursday from 11am-12noon to sort lids. We collect lids because they quite literally fall through Palmy’s recycling machines—they’re too flat to be picked up by the standard process.
Our volunteers come from all walks of life. They all have something in common: they enjoy meeting new people and doing something good for the environment. We’re so grateful to have such a great group of people coming together to support our unique little recycling programme.
There’s a great atmosphere, with people having a laugh, figuring out who has the best eyesight to identify the tiniest numbers on the plastic lids, and enjoying a good chat about life. Our volunteers have said they enjoy coming because they feel a part of a community, love having a chat, and enjoy meeting new people. One volunteer said she “always feels good going to lunch” afterwards because it’s fulfilling to give back. One volunteer also mentioned that it’s an opportunity to practise speaking English.
Individuals, community groups, and businesses drop off their lids to be recycled. We accept plastic lids (numbers 2, 4, and 5), as well as metal ones like beer and wine caps, and can tabs. Though each lid is tiny, together they make a big impact. On average, our volunteers hand-sort 7 to 8 kilograms of lids per week. To put that in perspective, a milk bottle lid weighs roughly 2.2 grams, and a beer bottle lid weighs about 2.5 grams—that’s around 3,200 lids sorted each week! The plastic lids are processed locally at Aotearoa NZ made plastics. Aluminium Wine bottle tops and tear tabs are collected by Lions Club as part of the Kidney Kids Cantabs fundraiser project. Every bit helps!
Please make very sure all items are clean before dropping them off. These lovely volunteers aren’t fans of surprise leftovers—especially expired ones—which can also attract rodents.
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