Rubbish and recycling

<< Back to rubbish and recycling

A to Z guide of reuse, recycling and disposal

This guide helps you to find out what and how to reuse and recycle a range of household items.

What to do with your sharp items

Did you know....

most household rubbish can be recycled or reused
there are many different ways to recycle
recycling is free and is easy to do
recycling and reusing items is good for the environment.

Item	What to do
Aluminium cans	rinse and place out for recycling through the kerbside recycling collection.
Aluminium scrap metal	building materials can be reused or recycled. Search 'scrap metal dealers' in the Yellow Pages.
Aerosol cans - empty	can be put out for recycling through the kerbside recycling collection.
Appliances (eg washing machines, toasters and kettles)	reuse the appliance when you no longer need it by: donating to Donate NZ or a charity selling it on Trade Me or to a second-hand shop. Unwanted appliances can also be disposed of in your inorganic collection or at a transfer station. See also Inorganic collections for more information.
Automobile bodies and parts	vehicle bodies and parts can be recycled. Search 'automobile dismantlers' in the Yellow Pages.
Batteries - domestic	millions of these are thrown away each year. They go to landfill sites, where they cause damage to people and the environment if their heavy metals leak into the soil and the water supply. Use the mains power wherever possible or use rechargeable batteries which is a much greener option!
Batteries - car	trade in your old battery when you get a new one drop off at the HazMobile. Visit the HazMobile website to check date and location for next collection.
Batteries - mobile phones	Telecom and Vodafone have recycling bins to drop off batteries/phones/accessories. Visit the Vodafone or Telecom websites to find your closest retail store drop off at the HazMobile. Visit the HazMobile website to check date and location for next collection.
Books	donate to schools and charities. for second-hand bookshops, search Yellow Pages.
Bottles and jars	rinse and place with the lids out for recycling through the kerbside recycling collection.
Boxboard - cereal boxes, etc	can be recycled with your other paper rubbish through the kerbside recycling collection.
Building and demolition materials	search under 'demolition' in the Yellow Pages visit the Zero Waste website for details on timber recycling see Re-use and recycling options for further options
Cans - steel and tin	rinse and place out for recycling through the kerbside recycling collection.
Cardboard - corrugated	can be recycled with your other paper rubbish through the kerbside recycling collection.
Ceramics	do not place ceramics out in your kerbside recycling collection. This should go out in your kerbside rubbish collection if unbroken, ceramics can be donated to your local charity shop.
Chemicals - household detergents, sprays, pool chemicals	drop-off at the HazMobile (household quantities only). Visit the HazMobile website for collection dates, location and more information on hazardous waste.
Christmas trees	after Christmas, you can recycle your tree - visit the Mount Gabriel Christmas Trees website.
Clothing, fabric and textiles	donate to charities or put in clothing bins located around the city search under 'textiles recyclers' in the Yellow Pages.
Computers, computer equipment, televisions and telephone equipment	computers, printers, monitors and telephone equipment can be recycled and reused. Visit the Computer Recycling.co.nz website for information about this free service working order computers can be donated to charities or visit the Donate NZ website computers, computer accessories and televisions can be taken to RCN. you can also look in the Yellow Pages under 'computer recycling' for recycling options
Egg cartons and trays	can be recycled with your other paper rubbish through the kerbside recycling collection.
Envelopes (even those with plastic windows)	can be recycled with your other paper rubbish through the kerbside recycling collection
Fire extinguishers	drop-off at the HazMobile. Visit the HazMobile website for collection dates, location and more information on hazardous waste.
Fluorescent tube lights	fluorescent tubes contain mercury and should not be put out in your kerbside recycling or rubbish collections dispose of fluorescent tubes environmentally by dropping off at the HazMobile. Visit the HazMobile website for collection dates, location and more information on hazardous waste businesses can drop off their fluorescent tubes at Interwaste - visit the Interwaste website for more information.
Food scraps	compost, worm farm or Bokashi at home. See Garden and food waste and enrol for a free composting and worm farming course.
Furniture	serviceable furniture can be sold, traded or donated to local charities. Visit the following websites for more information: the Auckland Freecycle network Donate NZ Renew waste exchange
Garden waste	compost at home. See Garden and food waste and enrol in a free composting course drop-off separated green waste at a transfer station use a green waste kerbside collection service. To find, search 'garden bags and bins' in the White Pages.
Glass bottles and jars	rinse and place with the lids out for recycling through the kerbside recycling collection. crates of beer bottles can be swapped at many liquor outlets.
Gas cylinders	these should be returned to the retailer or supplier so that they can be reused. Do not place gas cylinders out in with your household recycling or rubbish collection as the cylinders may explode when crushed.
Household goods - kitchenware, cutlery, crockery and ornaments	useable household goods can be traded or donated to local charities.
Household hazardous waste	drop-off at the HazMobile (household quantities only). Visit the HazMobile website for collection dates, locations and more information on hazardous waste.
Junk mail	can be recycled with your other paper rubbish through the kerbside recycling collection.
Light bulbs	light bulbs should be out out in your household rubbish or recycling collections. For safety reasons, wrap the bulb in newspaper in case the glass breaks.
Light bulbs - energy efficient	energy efficient light bulbs contain mercury. Please take old energy efficient bulbs to the HazMobile for disposal. Visit the HazMobile website for more information.
Medicines	return any unused medicines to your local pharmacy.
Metal	many metals can be re-used by the scrap metal industry. Search for 'scrap metal dealers' in the Yellow Pages.
Mobile phones	Telecom and Vodafone have recycling bins to drop off phones/batteries/accessories. Visit Vodafone or Telecom websites for your closest retail store drop off at the HazMobile. Visit the HazMobile website for collection dates and locations.
Nappies disposable	nappies cannot be recycled. You can use cloth nappies to help protect the environment and save money. Visit The Nappy Network for more information disposable nappies should be placed in your household rubbish collection.
Newspaper and magazines	magazines can be donated to your local childcare centre or doctors clinic can be recycled with your other paper rubbish through the kerbside recycling collection.
Oil - cooking	pouring oil down the drain is not only illegal but also harmful to humans and the environment. A lot of surface water drains lead to the nearest stream and oil may cause pollution, affect aquatic life and contaminate water supplies. It is also harmful to put oil in the soil or in sewers take it to the HazMobile. Visit the HazMobile website for collection dates and locations.
Oil - engine	drop off at participating retailers where you purchased the oil - check to see if they will take back used oil first drop off at the HazMobile. Visit the HazMobile website to check date and location for next collection.
Paint	take your unwanted paint to Resene ColorShops or Enviropaints. Visit these websites for outlets and other handy environmental tips on paint usage.
Paper - letters, envelopes, advertising leaflets and office paper	recycle through the kerbside recycling collection.
Plastic bottles and containers from the kitchen, laundry or bathroom marked with any of the following symbols:	remove lids, then rinse and squash containers before placing out for recycling through the kerbside recycling collection plastic lids are recyclable so put these out with your recycling as well.
Plastic bags	the Warehouse and some supermarkets have recycling collection drop-off boxes use cloth or canvas bags for shopping - these are available from most supermarkets.
Polystyrene	polystyrene is not recyclable and cannot be put out for recycling dispose of in your household rubbish collection try to buy products with less of this type of packaging. you can contact Recycle New Zealand (Ph: 0800 697 329) and/or NZ Plastic Recycling (Ph: 09 835 3928) who will recycle large volumes of white block material used for packaging only.
Printer and photocopy toners and cartridges	visit the Recyclers of New Zealand website. Click on "Recycling Directory", and search for 'printer toner' to see listings of all recyclers.
Rubble and soil	drop-off separated rubble and soil at the transfer station
Scrap metal - steel, iron, copper, old bike frames	search for 'scrap metal dealers' in the Yellow Pages.
Sports goods	useable goods can be sold, traded on Trade Me or donated to charities. Visit the following websites for more information: Donate NZ Renew waste exchange the Auckland Freecycle network
Steel and tin cans	rinse and place out for recycling through the kerbside recycling collection.
Telephone books	telephone books are collected each year when the new books are issued can also be recycled with your other paper rubbish through the kerbside recycling collection.
Televisions, telephone equipment, computers and computer equipment	computers, printers, monitors and telephone equipment can be recycled and reused. Visit the Computer Recycling.co.nz website for information about this free service working order computers can be donated to charities or visit the Donate NZ website computers, computer accessories and televisions can be taken to RCN. you can also look in the Yellow Pages under 'computer recycling' for recycling options
Toys	useable goods can be donated to toy libraries or charities. Search for 'toy hire' and 'toy libraries' in the Yellow Pages.
Tyres	unwanted tyres must not be placed out in your household rubbish or recycling. Most garages take the old tyres when replacing with new tyres can be taken to your nearest transfer station visit the Zero Waste website for details see Re-use and recycling options for further options.
White goods - washing machines, dishwashers, stoves	Fisher & Paykel offers free public recycling of whiteware (and all whiteware packaging) even if it's a different brand. Visit the Fisher and Paykel website for more information white goods can also be placed out for the inorganic collection. For safety reasons, please remove doors from appliances and remove power cords from faulty electrical items.

What to do with your sharp items

It is the responsibility of residents to dispose of all sharp objects in a safe way.

If the item you are throwing away could endanger any person, animal or vehicle during collection or disposal, then you must take all steps to securely contain the item before placing it in your rubbish bag for collection.

This can be done by:

wrapping the sharp item securely in thick cloth or multiple layers of thick newspaper (at least 5cm in thickness) and taping it to ensure the item doesn't come loose from its wrapping during collection
placing the sharp item/s in a sealed protective container before disposing in your rubbish bag.

This should be adequate for most small pieces of glass, metal and other sharp materials.

Here are some examples of items that must always be thickly wrapped or securely contained if disposing into a rubbish bag:

any broken glass from drinking glasses, ovenware, windows or mirrors (regardless of size)
any broken pieces of crockery and ceramics (regardless of size)
any glassware with edges or points
any sharp metal item or sharp-edged item such as steel or tin can lids or razor blades. Aluminium, steel and tin cans and their lids should be recycled through your kerbside recycling service instead.
any sharp item that is capable of cutting, piercing or puncturing the skin.

Larger pieces or larger amounts of glass and other sharp items such as window glass panes, mirror glass, broken glass, ceramics, crockery, sharp metal pieces and pointed items should be taken to your local transfer station for disposal. See list of transfer stations below.

Medical sharps such as syringes and needles should never be disposed of in rubbish bags, recycling bins or recycling crates. These items need to be discarded directly into an approved disposal container immediately after use and taken to your local A&E or medical centre, where they will be disposed of safely and responsibly. Talk to your local chemist or medical practitioner about how to get appropriate sharps disposal containers.

Ideally glass and sharp items should not be disposed of in rubbish bag if it can be avoided. If you do have small amounts of these items, you must take all precautions to prevent injuries to anyone coming into contact with the bag either during collection or while the bag is on the kerbside. Should the contents of your rubbish bag cause injury to a collector, you may be liable to prosecution.