Rubbish and recycling

When is my collection?

Your blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin will be emptied every second week and generally on the same day as your red-lidded wheelie bin.

Check your collection day and time >> Remember to place your bin at the kerbside before 7am on your collection day unless otherwise stated.

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What can and can't be recycled

What can be recycled
	Glass bottles/jars and their lids only. Please ensure lids are removed and items rinsed. Important: broken items should be wrapped in pager and put in your red-lidded wheelie bin.
	Aluminium/tin cans only - rinsed, squashed and with can lids safely inside.
	Plastic bottles and containers, and their lids (grades one to seven from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry only), excluding bottles that may have been contaminated with oil, fuel, weedkillers, etc, or are larger than 4 litres capacity. Please remove lids, rinse and squash containers. The lids can be recycled so place these into the blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin as well. The grade is indicated inside the recycling symbol (triangle) on the item. Examples of bottles/containers in each grade are: - soft drink bottles - milk, cream and detergent bottles - food and cleaning material bottles - flexible squeeze bottles - icecream, yoghurt, margarine and chinese takeaway containers, strawberry punnets - shampoo, conditioner and moisturiser bottles, dip containers - squeezable tomato sauce containers  Read more about the recycling symbols and what they mean.
	Paper/cardboard - all cardboard and paper (including Tetra Pak cartons eg juice and milk cartons) except for shredded paper anything with a plastic, wax or other greaseproof coating eg carbon paper photocopy paper wrappers food wrappings/containers - as food is a contaminant See What can't I put in my blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin Window envelopes can be put out for collection. Please put your cardboard and paper recycling in your new blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin.
What can't be recycled
	Glass - these types of glass all contain other materials that make them unsuitable to recycle: broken glass window, mirror, frosted, crystal and reinforced glass light bulbs pyrex and arcoroc tableware
	Plastics - the following cannot be recycled: all except those graded one to seven from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry meat and food trays cling film disposable nappies polystyrene cups fuel oil containers - the fuel oil contaminates the plastic container plastic bags - read more about why plastic bags can't be put out for recycling toys, buckets, baskets any container or bottle larger than 4 litres. The truck's compactors are unable to deal with the size of the container or thickness of the plastic
	Aluminium or tin aluminium foil and food containers eg meals on wheels containers paint tins fuel oil containers fridge parts garden tools aluminium pots and pans
	Paper shredded paper paper that has plastic, wax or other greaseproof coating eg carbon paper photocopy paper wrappers food wrappings/containers - as food is a contaminant Shredded paper can not be put in your blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin as it will clog the machines at the Materials Recycling Facility. Household quantities of shredded paper can be used in the garden compost as a mulch. Businesses with large quantities will need to contact a private collector.

Who gets a bin

• Residential
• Businesses
• Schools, kindergartens and play centres

Please note: recycling is also provided for Waiheke Island and the Central Business District.

Residential

Every property rated residential that currently has a red-lidded wheelie bin for household rubbish disposal is entitled to a blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin.

Bins belong to property. When you move house, please leave your bin at the old property and contact us to arrange a bin for your new home if you need one.

Businesses

Businesses will be provided with additional blue-lidded recycling wheelie bins so that staff can continue to recycle everyday household recyclable items such as newspapers, milk containers and aluminium cans.

The council does not collect paper and cardboard waste generated by businesses. If your business generates large amounts of paper and cardboard waste you should make alternative arrangements with private contractors. Cardboard is a high value recyclable material and there are a number of collectors who provide this service. View the Yellow Pages website for details of private paper-recycling contractors.

Please note:

• private collections must be made from inside the property, not the kerbside
• businesses leaving loose material, in particular cardboard and paper, at the kerbside will be contacted by council officers. Persistent offenders will face a fine of $400 for illegal dumping.

Schools, kindergartens and playcentres

All kindergartens, playcentres, primary, intermediate and secondary schools are eligible for a recycling collection at no cost to the school. Bins will be allocated as follows:

• Kindergartens/playcentres - one blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin
• Primary and intermediate schools - one blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin per 100 students
• Secondary schools - one blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin per 75 students

Please note: this is a kerbside collection service and any exceptions to this need to be advised to council.

Please contact us if you would like to use this recycling service.

Bin wasn't emptied

If you put your blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin out on the right day, (allowing for public holidays) but it was not emptied, it may be for one of the following reasons:

Reasons why your bin might not be emptied

• your bin was not put out on time. Bins put out after the truck has been will not be collected
• your bin was too full. The contents can spill onto the road and gutters when being emptied. The lid must be fully closed
• cardboard is jammed into the bin. Flatten or tear cardboard boxes to save space and prevent jamming
• your bin was outside the wrong address. Bins will only be emptied if they are outside the correct address
• your bin contained incorrect materials. You will need to remove these materials before your next collection
• your bin was not placed correctly
• your bin was too heavy. Remove heavy items before your next collection
• your bin is damaged. Contact us to arrange for it to be repaired.

If your bin was not collected for one of these reasons, you will need to rectify the problem and wait for your next collection.

Read the following information to help you avoid these problems in the future:

• What can and can't be recycled
• How to use your bin
• Hazardous waste

If there is another reason your bin was not emptied, please contact us for assistance.

Bin is missing or damaged

Missing/stolen bins will be replaced at no extra cost. To avoid this problem in the future please take your bin in as soon as possible after your collection. For easy identification, your property number is located on the side of your bin.

Damaged blue-lidded recycling wheelie bins will be repaired and/or replaced at no cost to the resident if they are damaged during the collection. Normal wear and tear of the bin will also be repaired.

Contact us if your blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin has been stolen and you would like a replacement, or your bin needs to be repaired/replaced.

Need an additional bin

We will provide additional recycling bins to eligible businesses and residential ratepayers at a modest cost. See Who gets a bin for more information.

The additional recycling bins will be provided if they can be stored on your property between collection days and not cause problems when placed out for collection.

If you would like an additional bin, please contact us and we will check whether you are eligible.

How to use your bin

Additional material for recycling

If you have excess recycling, you can store it in your old blue recycling crate and empty into your blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin for your next collection day.

Please do not:

• place extra items next to or on top of your blue-lidded recycling wheelie bin
• put additional recycling out in your old blue recycling crate or any other container as these will not be collected.

If you regularly have excess recycling you may need an additional bin.

Updated April 2009