Why New Zealand is a clean green country

At the moment a lot of people are on a different side about this topic. Is New Zealand a clean green country or is that just what people say?

In this explanation I will show reason as to why people of NZ believe that there are two differing opionions.

A lot of people consider us as the 'fortunate ones', we are not concerned about overpopulation, industrialisation which is the process of social and economic change that transforms a human group from a pre-industrial society into an industrial society.

We have no natural disasters, New Zealand is a wealthy country and by many people are seen as a clean green country. Every bit counts, if everyone recycles our resources are conserved, landfill volumes are reduced and less energy is required to produce materials.

This is what happens to the produce we put out for recycling:

Plastic containers get sold on to companies in New Zealand, Australia and China who will use the plastic flakes from these containers to make new items such as soft drink bottles, pillow and sleeping bag filling, recycling bins and speed bumps.

Paper is transported to paper mills. Locally, some of the paper is recycled at the Penrose Mill while the remainder is exported overseas to various markets such as Malaysia. The paper and cardboard is then sorted into types and washed, bleached and rolled to make recycled board. It can then be used to make a huge range of items for the printing and packaging industry.

Glass is recycled at the O-I New Zealand plant in Auckland where it is further sorted into individual groups - clear glass, amber glass and green glass. The glass can then be used as new glass bottles and jars and in some parts of road construction.

Aluminium is sent to Australia or Japan for recycling. Both these products are able to be recycled over and over again.

New Zealand has been seen as a clean green country for a very long time all over the world for our clean air, lush forests, clear rivers and lakes. If we keep going how we are going- not recycling properly, using too much petrol- making fuel harder to find and more expensive and polluting our air, using plastic bags instead of eco-friendly bags, overfishing and extinction of rare species of birds.

New Zealand has a lot to do if we want to still be seen as a clean green country!