Many people are aware of the importance of recycling.
Christchurch is far behind the other main centres of New Zealand in establishing a citywide recycling programme, particularly since Christchurch was the first city to investigate this over 15 years ago. However, the issue is more complex than this and inevitably funding is at the core of the Christchurch City Council's reluctance to implement such a scheme. All these four stages are equally important, as recycling won't happen without any one of them. If the material is not clean, properly sorted, easy to collect and transport, and desirable, then recycling won't occur. Perhaps the most important stage of the process is establishing a market for recycled goods.