Silicone recycling
Te Aro Zero Waste is a central Wellington drop-off point for Nil’s Silicone Send Back programme
Drop your retired food-grade silicone off to us to be repurposed as part of the first post-consumer silicone repurposing project in the Southern Hemisphere.
Got old silicone in the cupboard? Drop it off to us.
We accept any food-grade silicone for reuse, Nil or not. If it’s not on the list, but it’s from the kitchen, we can probably take it.
What we can take for Silicone Send Back:
✔️ Silicone ice pop makers
✔️ Silicone baby spoons
✔️ Silicone food covers
✔️ Silicone freezer bags
✔️ Silicone bakeware
✔️ Silicone spatulas
✔️ Silicone baby bottle teats
✔️ Silicone ice trays
✔️ Silicone food containers
What we can’t take:
❌ We cannot accept menstrual cups or other personal items, for hygiene reasons.
What is Nil’s Silicone Send Back programme?
Silicone Send Back is the brainchild of Anna from Nil and came out of a product stewardship discussion group. Product Stewardship is about businesses taking responsibility for the products they make and sell so their products don’t end up in a landfill. Nil is collecting any food-grade silicone from across the country and is organising to have it repurposed here in New Zealand.
What is silicone?
Silicone is a polymer mostly made from silica (sand). Food-grade silicone is non-toxic and can withstand heating and freezing without leaching or off-gassing hazardous chemicals.
Silicone is not plastic (or a rubber). Silicone can’t be recycled with plastic and can contaminate plastic recycling that is collected at kerbside.
What happens to the silicone that is returned?
Silicone will be sent to Nil’s processing partner in Auckland, where it will be sorted into material that can then be used by product designers. Silicone collected in the initial stages of the trial will be used to design special items (like an art installation). When there is a higher volume of recycled silicone material it will be used to make cool new products here in NZ.
For more information about this programme, head to Silicone Send Back.