Here's a question for the ages - should plastic bags go in the recycling bin or the rubbish bin?
The Christchurch City Council has an answer, it's directing all of its residents to throw their bags away, so they can be carted to landfill and won't mix with recycling.
They line yellow recycling bins all over Christchurch but, from now on, plastic bags are no longer acceptable.
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Solid Waste Manager Christchurch City Council, Ross Trotter, says the Christchurch Council will no longer recycle plastic bags.
"What we require now is for those bags to go into the red rubbish bin."
That's because of compostable eco-bags, made from corn starch, that look like the real thing but aren't.
While plastic bags, the type you'd normally get at the supermarket, and compostable bags look almost identical, they can't be recycled together.
Corn starch contaminates the plastic, reducing its value on the world recycling market meaning it ends up in the tip.
"You're sorting 25 tonnes per hour, it's just not feasible to separate," says Mr Trotter.
The change is causing confusion, one Christchurch resident asked: "Do you recycle it, or do you throw it out? I have no idea".
"I'd just probably recycle them, because you can recycle them, can't you?" asks another resident.
The best idea? Avoid using plastic bags in the first place.
"Everything you purchase, whatever it's wrapped in, does have to go somewhere, so it's about that behaviour change and making sure you're making the right decisions," says Mr Trotter.
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