An environmental charitable trust in New Plymouth says the city needs to improve its record on waste disposal, as the region's landfill runs out of space.
New Plymouth does not have a recycling-bin system so households put any newspapers, cardboard and some grades of plastic containers in bags for kerbside collection.
The environmental trust, Hive Taranaki, says the city is lagging behind others and needs to improve its collection and processing of recyclable household waste.
A planned $6 million rubbish and recycling centre is at least 18 months away.
The council's estimates show the existing landfill will run out of space in five to seven years.
