Packaging, New Zealand's New Recycling Rules & Why I’ve Gone Back to Original Lids

Two years ago, I switched the Face Cream and Blam Blam Balm jars to aluminum lids in an effort to reduce plastic and waste. Unfortunately, the quality of these lids has proven to be very poor. The last batch I received was 50% unusable, and while the supplier (the only one available in NZ) replaced them, the replacements also mostly failed. They've told me to expect this as they are fragile.

So sadly they’re not a sustainable solution—either environmentally or economically—and not a good end product for you.

For now, I’ve returned to our original lids while I continue looking for a better, long-term alternative. I’m confident there will be a solution in the future, and I’ll keep you updated as soon as I find one.

 

Since we’re (sort of) on the topic of recycling, and in case you didn't know (like a friend who stayed here at the weekend who had to listen to all the issues around the lids) there has been an important change to kerbside recycling rules across New Zealand.

The good news is it’s now standardised nationwide (no more guessing "do I leave the lid on, do I put it in separately".)

The not-so-good news: The answer is ... NO lids of any kind at all—plastic, aluminum, or otherwise—and NO lids of any size can go into kerbside bins. 

LIDS CAN STILL BE RECYCLED

The good news is that they can still be recycled!

But it requires a bit more effort as you need to drop them off at designated collection points. Here is how to recycle lids in New Zealand in 2025 (with lists of different locations around the country where you can do this). But I also recommend checking your local council’s website for other details as I have found other drop-off places there as well.

And this is a great Instagram post  with lots of good information from all over the country. Do have a look as it made me feel better that such an upstanding eco warrior as Kate Hall has all these lids in her cupboards too!!

People do ask me if they can return their jars and bottles and I get that. Making my own skincare started in an effort to decrease waste and I did initially accept returns at the markets when people brought them to me in person. But it's not that easy. 

From a logistical perspective returning empty jars in the post often results in breakages (we’ve tried it) so they're a hazard for couriers and processing staff. And the actual shipping it back is carbon heavy therefore neutralising any gains you think you’ve made by returning them. I have checked all this with the glass packaging forum people when I was investigating getting a proper sanitising machine and they said I was too small. 

The amber jars I use are infinitely recyclable and it takes less energy to recycle glass than to make new glass, so please clean your jars and place them in your recycling bin, unless you have good ways to reuse them. 

P.S.S there's lots more information on all this on my FAQs