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Recycling Hub

There are a number of items that you can recycle at our Sydenham store which is located within Prima Roastery Café at 387 Brougham Street, in Ōtautahi Christchurch.

Note:
Our opening hours are:
8am to 3pm Monday - Friday
8am to 12pm Saturday
We're closed on Sundays and bank holidays.

Our recycling station is run by the Earthlove team, please address any queries to a staff member in the Earthlove corner and not café staff.

Running this recycling station is a costly and time consuming operation that we offer as a service to our Earthlove customers to improve our taiao environment and reduce waste. By using this recycling station we anticipate that you will support our endeavours in the following ways:

  • Be kind and courteous to our team.
  • Make a koha donation if you can.
  • Ensure your recycling is spotlessly clean.
  • Ensure your recycling is correctly sorted, there is more information below but if in doubt please ask.
  • No dumping and running - you need to sort your recycling.
  • No dumping of rubbish we don't recycle.
  • When you need to buy something, please consider / ask if we might have what you need. Our range includes most household items.
  • Spread the word, tell your friends and whānau about our shop (both online and our physical store). Bring them along for a recycling and coffee date.
  • Be curious - learn about our range and what we do so that the next time your friend mentions that they need an eco friendly item, you can tell them exactly where to go.
  • We're a friendly bunch so please ask and we'll happily fill you in on anything you'd like to know.

We're here for planet, not profit but we need your support to make this a sustainable operation. Please do what you can to support our eco shop and the 70+ small local businesses whose products we stock.

While you're here we would love to show you our range of waste-free products which will help to avoid waste and the need for recycling. We love to chat so say hello and ask about eco alternatives and easy switches you can make next time you visit.

Recycling Station at Earthlove
Our recycling station in the early days.


You can recycle the following items at our recycling station:
  • Metal bottle caps and lids separated into steel (jar lids and crown beer bottle caps) and aluminium (drink and wine bottle lids).
  • Batteries.
  • Razor and shaving related waste (more information below).
  • Plastic caps and lids separated into plastic numbers 2 and 5. (Note: Milk bottle caps are generally number 2, but you need to check - you'll see the number in a triangle inside the lid. Only numbers 2 and 5 inside a triangle are accepted and #2's need to be sorted by colour).
  • Oral related waste - Colgate brand only (more information below).
  • Bamboo toothbrushes, to be made into soap dishes.
  • Plastic Bread tags - no longer accepted.
  • Plastic # 6 - no longer accepted.

We also have a TerraCycle Zero Waste Box that can technically take a wide variety of difficult to recycle items. We initially purchased this box for $504 and to prevent it from filling up too quickly with items that can be recycled elsewhere (like clothing) we are limiting the things that can be recycled in it to 1 - blister packs from tablets (painkillers for example) and 2 - pens / all writing instruments. Due to the cost of this box, we are asking that anyone using it makes a gold coin donation.

All recycling must be clean and dry and sorted into the correct bins or jars at our recycling station. Some customers find it works well to set up a small recycling station at home so that they can sort as they use items and don't have to spend a long time resorting the whole lot again at our recycling station. They then bring their pre-sorted recycling with them in jars or old bread bags for super quick and easy sorting.

Graphic outline of 6 disposable razor's, all laid out top to tail in an evenly spaced row ready for recycling.

Razor Recycling:
recycle any brand of used razor blades and their packaging.

TerraCycle and Gillette have partnered to create a recycling programme for any brand of used razors, their blades and their packaging and we are a Community Collection Hub for this programme.

The Community Collection Hub network is a network of locations around New Zealand where members of the community can take their 'non-recyclable' waste to be recycled with TerraCycle. Find out more at the TerraCycle website.

TerraCycle and Gillette recycling programme accepted waste infographic.
Accepted waste:
Any brand of used razors, their blades and their packaging, including:
  • All brands of blades and razors (refillable and disposable products, and replaceable-blade cartridge units)
  • Rigid plastic packaging
  • Flexible plastic packaging

Please note:
Cardboard and paper packaging is recyclable through regular kerbside recycling. Please do not include these items for this programme, tear off and remove any paper or cardboard if necessary.

Once collected, the razor blades and their packaging are broken down and separated by material. Plastics are cleaned and pelletised to be recycled into new products like picnic tables and park benches, and metal materials are sent for smelting and conversion to new alloys.

For each unit of used razor blades and packaging that we send to TerraCycle, we will receive one TerraCycle Point, which we will redeem for a payment of NZ$0.01 to a non-profit organisation or school of our choosing.



Graphic outline of toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and mouth wash bottles, all laid out in an evenly spaced row ready for recycling.

Oral Care Recycling:
recycle your Colgate branded products and their packaging.

Colgate®, has partnered with TerraCycle® to help provide a second life for toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, toothpaste caps, floss containers and their plastic outer packaging materials. We are a Community Collection Hub for this programme.

Colgate and TerraCycle Oral Care Recycling Programme accepted waste infographic.

Accepted waste:
Colgate brand only. Toothpaste tubes and caps, toothbrushes, floss containers, interdental brushes, mouthwash bottles and all associated plastic packaging.

Please note:
Cardboard and paper packaging is recyclable through regular kerbside recycling. Please do not include these with your waste. Electronic toothbrushes and electronic toothbrush parts are not recyclable through this programme.

In order to recycle this waste stream properly, please make sure all excess product has been removed (i.e. leftover toothpaste or floss). And if you choose to rinse your product, please ensure that it is completely dry prior to dropping it off.

Once collected, the oral waste is cleaned and melted into hard plastic that can be re-molded to make new recycled plastic products.

For every shipment over 5kg, we will be awarded 2 TerraCycle Points per piece of oral care waste collected. These TerraCycle points will be redeemed for a payment of $0.01 per point to a non-profit organisation or school of our choosing. So don't delay, gather up your recycling and drop it off to us next time you're passing and lets raise some much needed money for these organisations!