Buller District on New Zealand’s South Island has expanded its household EPS recycling programme from a single retail collection point to a wider district network.
The scheme began in 2023 through a partnership involving Mitre 10, EXPOL, Smart Environmental and Buller District Council. Residents could initially return clean polystyrene packaging to a collection cube at Mitre 10 in Westport.
In June 2025, the programme expanded with additional collection points at the Westport and Reefton transfer stations, giving communities beyond the original retail site easier access to EPS recycling.
A regional route to specialist processing
The council funds transport of the collected material to Christchurch, where EXPOL processes it. Buller identifies downstream applications including underfloor insulation, beanbag filling and other construction products.
Residents are asked to deliver clean EPS without food residues, dirt, tape or labels. The household scheme is designed for domestic quantities, while commercial material follows other arrangements.
The Buller programme shows how a relatively small and geographically dispersed district can create a recycling route by combining existing transfer stations, a retail collection point, municipal transport support and specialist processing elsewhere in the country.
Sources used in this article
Buller District Council: Buller’s polystyrene recycling programme expands
Buller District Council: Transfer-station information
Buller recycling guidance: Polystyrene recycling information
