Recycling

• Auckland recycling collection calendar 2011-2012 (PDF 641k)

New fortnightly recycling wheelie bin collection service

From 3 October 2011 Auckland Council is providing a fortnightly recycling wheelie bin collection service in Papakura.

Every household, school, business and club previously using the council's crate-based recycling service should already have received a new recycling wheelie bin, along with an information pack.

The new wheelie bins are larger, easier to move and can take all of your usual recyclable materials, including paper and cardboard, so they are more convenient to use. (The bins are not for commercial or industrial waste.)

The new bins also have a lid, so there is little chance of your recycling blowing away or being spilled during collection, which means cleaner and safer streets.  In addition, all your recyclable materials can be placed into your recycling bin loosely so there is no need to bundle or sort items.

From 3 October your recycling wheelie bin will be collected every fortnight on the same day as your weekly rubbish collection.

Some households will be affected by a change to their rubbish and recycling collection day, due to some vehicle routing changes being made to ensure we have an efficient collection service.

So, please check the white sticker on the side of your bin noting the day and week of your rubbish and recycling collection. e.g. Mon Wk2. Please read this in conjunction with the calendar contained in the information pack provided with your bin to ensure your recycling wheelie bin is put out on the correct day and week.

Please note:
Rubbish will continue to be collected weekly, on the same day as recycling is collected. For example if your recycling collection day is a Monday (fortnightly), your rubbish will also be collected on a Monday (weekly).

If you have any questions or concerns please contact our local customer services team on 295 1300.

It's as easy as 1, 2, 3

1. The more we recycle the better it is for the environment.
2. All of your recycling goes into your new bin.
3. Begin using your new bin from 3 October, and put it out fortnightly for collection. (Check your bin label and calendar to confirm your collection day.)

Put your recycling bin out correctly from 3 October

• Place your wheelie bin on the kerb or the grass verge outside your house by 7am on your collection day. The bin should be clear of the footpath and any obstructions such as trees and light poles.
• Face the handles of the bin to your house.
• Make sure the lid of the bin is closed.
  

What can go in the recycling wheelie bin?

Yes

• Newspapers, magazines, junk mail and brochures
• Cardboard and non-foil wrapping paper
• Dry food packaging e.g. Cereal boxes
• Empty pizza boxes (free of any food remnants)
• Telephone directories
• Writing paper and envelopes
• Tetra Pak cartons and liquid paperboard
• Plastic milk and soft drink bottles
• Plastic shampoo and conditioner bottles
• Plastic household cleaning bottles
• Milk and juice cartons
• Yogurt pots, margarine tubs and ice cream containers
• Any plastic container from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry marked with any of the recycling symbols 1-7
• Drink cans - aluminium and steel
• Food tins (rinsed)
• Empty aerosols
• Glass bottles and jars (rinsed).

No

• Household rubbish
• Food waste
• Plastic shopping bags and plastic food wrap
• Engine oil bottles and automotive parts
• Paints and chemicals
• Hot ashes
• Garden waste
• Polystyrene
• Drinking glasses
• Ceramics, crockery, porcelain and oven ware
• Disposable nappies
  
• Light bulbs
• Mirrors
• Window or windscreen glass
• Computers
• Clothing and fabric
• Telephones
• Gas cylinders and bottles

For more information on recycling hazardous waste visit www.hazmobile.govt.nz or call (09) 301 0101.

What happens if I put something that can't be recycled in my wheelie bin?

The collectors monitor what comes out of bins as they do the collection. As each bin is labelled with a number and the address it is collected from it is relatively easy to identify users that are putting the wrong stuff in wheelie bins.

If you put the wrong stuff in your recycling wheelie bin collectors will take the following steps:

• On the first occasion they will leave an orange or red warning tag on your bin.
• On the second occasion the bin will not be emptied, a red tag will be put on your bin and you will receive a warning letter. 
• If you offend again, your bin will be removed.

Why should I recycle?

Recycling makes a huge difference to our environment. It helps reduce carbon emissions because the materials don't go to landfills; reduces the need to take materials from our fragile environment; and saves energy.

Here are some examples of how recycling helps to reduce impacts on the environment.

Paper and cardboard

• Making paper from recycled materials results in 74 per cent less air pollution and 35 per cent less water pollution
• Recycling one tonne of newspaper stops the release of 2.5 tonnes of carbon monoxide into the air
• Every tonne recycled saves 13 trees and conserves 31,780 litres of water.

Glass jars/bottles

• Recycling a glass jar saves enough energy to light a bulb for four hours
• Recycling glass saves 25-32 per cent of the energy used to make it.
  Plastic bottles and containers
• A tonne of plastic containers made with recycled plastic conserves about 7,200 kWh of electricity, the equivalent of seven months power for an average home
• Five 2-litre PET bottles makes enough fibrefill for one jacket.

Aluminium cans

• Turning old cans into new ones uses 95 per cent of the energy used to make new cans
• One recycled aluminium can saves enough electricity to run a computer or a television for three hours.

Other recycling options

Paint

Take unwanted paint and paint containers to your local Resene Colorshop or Enviropaints store in East Tamaki for recycling. Recycled paint is used to paint out graffiti.

Hazardous household waste

The regular Auckland Council HazMobile collections allow you to drop off a range of hazardous household waste including household and garden chemicals, batteries and gas cylinders so they can be recycled safely. Find out when the next collection in your area is at www.hazmobile.govt.nz. In addition, hazardous household waste can be disposed of throughout the year at the Snell's Beach, Silverdale and Waitakere refuse transfer stations.

Used engine oil

Households in the Auckland region can ensure their used engine oil is recycled by putting it in a sealed, leak-proof container and putting it in one of the free oil recovery drop-off bins available at Repco stores around the region and at Total Lubricants' office in East Tamaki. The used oil is then recycled via approved product stewardship schemes. For more information, including the drop-off locations, visit www.oilrecycling.org.nz.

Plastic bags

A number of supermarkets now have places to drop off plastic bags so they can be recycled.

Food and garden scraps

Start a compost heap or worm farm, then use the compost/vermicast on plants or in your garden.

What else can I do to reduce waste?

Reduce

• Choose products with little or no packaging
• Buy in bulk to reduce packaging
• Buy products with re-usable or recyclable packaging
• Choose products that display the Environmental Choice New Zealand tick - this shows they have met published environmental standards. See  www.enviromentalchoice.org.nz.

Re-use

This is another easy way of minimising your rubbish. It saves the energy and resources needed to make new products – and saves you money too.

• Say no to plastic bags. Take re-useable bags to the shop instead
• Buy re-usable long lasting, repairable products instead of disposable items
• Use empty plastic containers or jars for storing food and other things
• Save wrapping paper and boxes to use again
• Shop at second-hand stores or use trading websites and classifieds to find “pre-loved” items
• Sell unwanted items online or hold a garage sale instead of throwing them away
• Give unwanted clothes to opportunity shops or used clothing bins
• Sell unwanted items to schools, creches and kindergartens at www.donatenz.com or pass on everything from old computers to building materials at www.renew.org.nz

Common questions

Will the bins be heavier to move and take up more space?

They will take up roughly the same space as the current recycling crates, although they will be taller. The recycling wheelie bins are actually easier and safer to move around than the crates because they are on wheels and don't have to be lifted.

Why a fortnightly collection?

The new bins are larger than the current crates so only have to be collected once a fortnight. Together with the fact that a separate truck for paper and cardboard is no longer needed and collection routes will be more efficient this means fewer vehicle movements and less congestion on the roads.

Why is it okay to put paper and cardboard in the same bin as other recycling?

The aim is to make it easier for you to recycle more. The factory where your recycling will be sorted is the most advanced in the southern hemisphere. The materials will be screened and separated using machinery, which results in improved processing times and reduces the risk of product contamination.

Why can't I put plastic bags in the bin?

Plastic bags get caught in the machinery used to sort the recycling. You can take plastic bags to supermarkets to be recycled, or re-use them. Alternatively you can take re-useable cloth bags to the shops so you don't require plastic bags.

What should I do with my current recycling crate?

You are free to keep your old recycling crates for which there are numerous uses around the house. For example, planter box, fishing box, storage uses.

We also suggest that you continue using the smaller crate for storing your recyclable materials to empty into the recycling wheelie bin when full. If you don't want it, please take it to the transfer station, 15 Inlet Rd, Papakura, phone 299 8153. Do not put your current recycling crate in your recycling wheelie bin.

What do I do with excess recycling?

Do not put out any recycling in another container or next to or on top of the wheelie bin as these cannot be collected. If you have extra recycling you can take it to Papakura Transfer Station, 15 Inlet Road, Papakura, free of charge.

What is the cost for this new service?

The new mobile recycling bin service will be delivered without additional cost to ratepayers. The cost is included within your General Rates, and entitles all urban, rural, commercial properties with an existing dwelling, who currently have a kerbside collection to a recycling wheelie bin and associated fortnightly collection service. Council does not provide a rates rebate or discount if you choose not to use our recycling service. You are welcome to provide your feedback on this during consultation on the Auckland Council Waste Management and Minimisation Plan later this year.

Who is the new contractor and what do the trucks look like?

EnviroWay Ltd has been awarded the new collection contract due to start on 3 October 2011. Their recycling trucks are white with green and blue EnviroWay sign writing displayed on the side together with the Auckland Council logo.

For more information contact our local call centre on 295 1300.