Inorganic collection gets under way soon

"Remember - don't put out your inorganic rubbish before the appropriate date"

Inorganic rubbish collection: Coming to a street near you.

From City Scene, published on 1 February, 2009.

Every two years, Auckland City Council provides inorganic collections across the city and Hauraki Gulf islands. The next collection for residential properties within the Auckland city area - excluding the CBD and businesses - starts late February and runs until the end of June.

The collection process

There are 19 collection zones across the city. A leaflet drop will advise residents that a collection will be occurring in their area, up to 10 days before the date they should place rubbish out. A City Scene public notice and advertisements in local papers will tell residents where they can get more information about the collections. Check your street's collection date online.

People should place their rubbish out in the weekend immediately before the collection in their area begins. For pedestrian safety, items should be stacked neatly on the grass verge - or the footpath if your street has no grass verge.

Metal objects such as fridges, washing machines and stoves, as well as tyres (no more than five per property), should be placed in a separate pile since different trucks will collect these items. Remove doors from stoves, fridges and other appliances and remove power cords from faulty electrical items.

Dos and don'ts

"Inorganic rubbish" means any item that is not hazardous, cannot be recycled, or is too large for the weekly rubbish collection. With most of the inorganic rubbish going to landfill, Aucklanders are encouraged to consider whether items could instead be given to charity.

Residents should not put out items that are too heavy or too large - they should be able to be lifted by two people.
Building or trade waste (such as concrete bricks, rocks, stone, wood and glass) should be taken to your local refuse transfer station.
Garden waste (such as grass clippings, and tree and hedge trimmings) should be composted, collected by a private company or taken to your local refuse transfer station.
Recyclable materials (such as paper, cardboard, plastic and glass bottles, or tin cans) should be put in your fortnightly recycling collection bin.
Inorganic refuse placed on the kerbside is owned by the person putting it out - Auckland City Council takes ownership at the point of pick up.

Getting rid of hazardous waste and e-waste

Auckland residents can get rid of hazardous waste - including automotive products, household and garden chemicals, batteries and LPG cylinders - at the HazMobile collections scheduled to coincide with upcoming inorganic collections.

You can drop off your waste at the Glen Innes Community Centre on 7 March, at Western Springs Park on 4 April and 23 May, and at Mt Smart Stadium on 6 June. Asbestos, medical waste, ammunition, explosives and hazardous commercial waste will not be accepted. Visit HazMobile for more details.

The HazMobile will not take paint (except toxic paint such as old lead paint and marine antifouling paint). Other types of paint and paint tins can be taken year-round for reuse or recycling to Resene Colorshops or to PlaceMakers stores as part of the Enviropaint take back recycling scheme.

At Resene Colorshops, Resene-branded paint is free to return. A small charge applies to other paint brands to cover handling, recovery and recycling costs. PlaceMakers takes all paint free of charge. Conditions apply.

Give your e-waste a new life by recycling it. Electronic waste such as computers, keyboards, hard drives, monitors, printers and mobile phones can be toxic to the environment when they end up in landfill. Visit ComputerRecycling.co.nz or DonateNZ or RCN for recycling and reuse.

Reduce and reuse - as important as recycling

While recycling is one great way we can prevent waste from going into Auckland's rapidly filling landfills, there are two more important ways:

reducing the amount we create in the first place
reusing as much as possible.

There are alternative disposal options for inorganic materials that can be recycled or reused such as Auckland Freecycle Network, RENEW Resource Exchange, RONZ Auckland Recycling Directory as well as local charities.

Visit Auckland City Council's A-Z guide of reusing, recycling and disposal online.