​It's been a big adjustment, but Mid Canterbury's efforts to clean up its recycling has gone from strength to strength with recent reports showing contamination stayed exceptionally low over the Christmas period.

The district reported just 4 per cent contamination in its recycling at the Christchurch sorting centre over the holidays, a figure which ensured that the materials could be processed and not rejected to landfill.

Council Infrastructure Services Group Manager Neil McCann says the results are an outstanding reflection of how hard residents have been working these past six months.

"We are thrilled to see these great figures, especially at a time of year where there's lots of gift and food packaging to sort and dispose of.

"It hasn't just been about getting the plastic recycling right either: there's been a big emphasis on the need to keep lids and general rubbish out of the yellow bins too and residents have been very responsive to this."

In August, the Council began auditing recycling bins before collection to help educate residents about what materials can and can't go in the yellow bins. Coupled with an updated 'Bin it Right' rubbish and recycling handbook, the exercise has proved invaluable at reigning in the district's contamination levels.

For the months of October, November and December, Mid Canterbury recorded contamination levels below 5 per cent, the lowest being just 2.5 per cent in October.