People in Wellington are recycling less and sending more rubbish to the dump.
The latest figures show the city is one of the worst in the country and the Council acknowledges it needs to do help make it easier for households.
"Wellington has a reputation of being quite green but actually in the waste area we're not," says Wellington City Councillor Iona Pannett.
The council’s statistics show people in Wellington recycle and average of 53kg of waste from the kerb. Aucklanders do much better recycling 84kg, while Christchurch recycles 109kg per person – double the amount in Wellington.
The capital has also seen a steady decline in its figures over the last three years.
Over 50 per cent of the city’s waste is actually recyclable, but The Sustainability Trust says it's not clear what can be put in the recycle bins.
"Certainly because our different councils have different types of recycling it can be a bit confusing for people... so that's where I think education comes in," says Susie Robertson.
The Wellington Council agrees it could do more, saying people shouldn’t have to go to a website to figure out if something can be recycled.
While comparing different cities isn’t straightforward due to different collection methods, the Wellington Council says it’s determined to do better.
It plans to provide organic food bins next year to further reduce waste.
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