Tips on Preparing FAS Plastic Bottles for Recycling

Reuse:
First consider if you can reuse the bottle.
Cleaning FAS plastic paint bottles:
Rinse the bottle with water. Fill the bottle partway with water and put the cap on. Shake the bottle to slosh the water around. Open the bottle again and pour the water out. If the bottle is still dirty inside, you may need to do this a second or third time. The bottle doesn't need to be perfectly clean, but there should be no residue of paint inside it.
Important:
Never pour paint waste directly into an outside drain, these can lead directly into rivers or oceans.
It is safe to use inside drains as all water from inside drains in New Zealand gets treated by the local water treatment companies like Watercare Care NZ.
Caps:
In New Zealand caps can stay on plastic bottles that get sent to recycling.
Labels:
FAS label are also able to stay on is these made from the same recyclable plastics as the bottles.
NB: Most paper labelabled bottles to do not get recycled.
Placing in Curb-side Bins
Bottles should be empty and don’t not need to be completely dry when placed in recycle curb-side bins. Consider crushing the bottles if you have a lot of them. This will help save space in the recycling container, or bags.
FAS recycle plastic code 2 which means
they can be recycled right here within New Zealand.
First consider if you can reuse the bottle.
- Use in an art project.
- Use for storage.
- Cut in half and use as a cup for paint brush or a mixing pot.
Cleaning FAS plastic paint bottles:
Rinse the bottle with water. Fill the bottle partway with water and put the cap on. Shake the bottle to slosh the water around. Open the bottle again and pour the water out. If the bottle is still dirty inside, you may need to do this a second or third time. The bottle doesn't need to be perfectly clean, but there should be no residue of paint inside it.
Important:
Never pour paint waste directly into an outside drain, these can lead directly into rivers or oceans.
It is safe to use inside drains as all water from inside drains in New Zealand gets treated by the local water treatment companies like Watercare Care NZ.
Caps:
In New Zealand caps can stay on plastic bottles that get sent to recycling.
Labels:
FAS label are also able to stay on is these made from the same recyclable plastics as the bottles.
NB: Most paper labelabled bottles to do not get recycled.
Placing in Curb-side Bins
Bottles should be empty and don’t not need to be completely dry when placed in recycle curb-side bins. Consider crushing the bottles if you have a lot of them. This will help save space in the recycling container, or bags.
FAS recycle plastic code 2 which means
they can be recycled right here within New Zealand.