Frequently Asked Questions

Bins are to be put out on an alternating basis, ie red bin one week and yellow bin the following week and so on. Refer to the online collection calendar or collect a copy from our offices at 105 Tainui Street. There are separate calendars for residential properties and businesses in the CBD.

The collection contractor own the wheelie bins and Council requests that residents do not draw on or decorate their wheelie bins in any way. If your wheelie bin has been drawn on, it is the householder's responsibility to remove the markings from the bin. Such drawing or decoration will be deemed negligent damage and the property owner may incur costs to replace the bin.

There should be no decorating or defacing the wheelie bins, however, Council will discuss any specific needs on a case by case basis. If this applies to you, please contact Council on 03 769 8611.

A comprehensive information booklet was provided with each wheelie bin and there is also a sticker inside the lid of each bin showing what can be included. Special needs groups who require further assistance should contact Council on 03 769 8611.

Each property in the kerbside recycling collection area is allocated one refuse (red lid) bin and one recycling (yellow lid) bin for each Refuse and Recycling Collection charge they pay on their rates account. If you do not think you have received the correct number of bins, please phone the Council on 03 769 8611.

Contact the Council and arrange for the bins not allocated to the property to be uplifted and returned to stock.

Where a property has not been subdivided, but has had a 'granny flat' built on the same land parcel as the primary residence, only the primary residence will receive the standard service wheelie bins. This is because the entire property is only paying one Refuse and Recycling Collection rate.

If you own multiple properties, please do not move the wheelie bins among your properties. All wheelie bins need to remain with the property they are allocated to. If bins are put out for collection at a different address to the allocated property, they may not be collected and may be treated as stolen bins.

Check with the previous owner/landlord to try to locate the bins. If they cannot be located, then call the Council on 03 769 8611.

Call the Council on 03 769 8611.

If the property is not built on, Council will arrange for the bins to be taken back until the property owner advises they want the service. If the building is not occupied, then the bins are to be stored on the premises as the bins are allocated to the property.

No, the bins stay with the house they are registered to. Your new house should have the bins that are registered to it, so your old bins will stay with your old house.

The wheelie bin's label corresponds with the property address the bin was originally allocated to. The collector will check with the wheelie bin database to confirm if a wheelie bin is outside the wrong property. If a bin does not belong to, or is not in the immediate vicinity, to the property it was allocated to, the kerbside collection contractor:

• Will sticker the bin advising the resident to contact Council with the reason for its use at an address other than the one it was allocated to.
• If no action is taken by the user prior to the bin's next collection, the collector may not uplift the contents of the bin or may remove the bin and return it to stock.

Council's contractor will be offering a service to businesses, schools and residents who wish to add additional recycling and/or refuse bins. This will be a direct commercial relationship between the property owner/occupant and the contractor , ie you would pay them direct for the additional service. This is the same user pays system as the previous refuse collection system where if people wanted to put out extra bags over and above the annual allocated allowance (which equalled one bag per week residential and two bags per week commercial) then people had to buy extra yellow ties.

There are also currently other providers of refuse collection who may continue to offer their service into the future, eg wheelie bins and skips.

One Refuse and Recycling Collection rate on your rates account allows for one refuse (red) bin and one recycling (yellow) bin. If you have multiple separately inhabited parts of a rating unit on your property (ie flats, separate businesses etc), an adjustment may be required to your rates account to reflect the correct number of separately inhabited parts of a rating unit on your property, thus enabling the correct allocation of wheelie bins. Call Council on 03 769 8600.

Council resolved to provide each property in the kerbside recycling collection area with a 120 litre refuse bin and a 240 litre recycling bin. Property owners can arrange for additional bins to be provided direct with the contractor. The additional bins will be a commercial arrangement between the property owner and the contractor.

At this stage Council has decided to provide a 120 litre refuse bin and a 240 litre recycling bin. Both sizes are in widespread use in urban areas throughout New Zealand.

Council has resolved to provide kerbside collection of refuse and recyclables using wheelie bins and Council no longer provides a bag collection service for the areas that have now been provided with these wheelie bins.

If the property owner does not want the bins, then Council can arrange for them to be taken away provided the property owner can confirm that they have an alternative service (eg commercial skip service). However while the property owner may choose not to use the Council provided service, there would be no reduction in rates as the rate is applied on the basis of service availability.

The bin(s) may have been taken in by a neighbour by mistake or the previous owners may have taken the bin(s) with them - please check the address labels on the bins either side of your property on collection day or contact the previous owner or your landlord/property manager. If you are unable to locate your missing bin(s) please phone Council on 03 769 8611.

If residents leave their bin(s) out after 7pm on their collection day and their bin is stolen, there may be a charge for replacement.

The kerbside collection wheelie bins belong to the property they were allocated to. Contact Council on 03 769 8611 and advise when the dwelling on the property will be demolished and when the wheelie bins need to be removed. The bins will be removed by the Council's kerbside collection contractor and returned once the property has been rebuilt.

Many shop staff for commercial properties do not get to work until 8am--8.30am, however all bins have to be put out to the kerbside by 7am to allow the wheelie bin truck to pick up the bins during a time when there is likely to be very few parked cars.

Bins are collected in the CBD between 7am and 8am. Later in the day would mean there would be more disruption and noise to businesses, customers and through traffic.

Council resolved to provide the new service which includes the provision of wheelie bins. Just like the previous requirements to store refuse bags on the property until the collection day, property owners will need to make their own arrangements to store the bins on their properties. The bins cannot be left out on, for instance, the footpaths for prolonged periods as they will become a potential hazard for pedestrians.

Council is investigating this matter further with respect to people who, for reasons of disability, impairment or frailty, are not able to use the new waste collection wheelie bins. However, at this stage it is expected that just like the previous bag collection, people make their own arrangements to get the refuse and recyclables out to the road side for collection.

Towing devices are available from Council - see below - Where can I get a towing device for my wheelie bins?

Some hardware and automotive stores sell towing devices for wheelie bins. You can also find towing devices listed on Trade Me. Council is currently selling some devices for $20 each.

• The footpath is back from the road?
• There is grass verge in front of the road?
• I live in a private right of way?
• My house is on a small side road?

The bins need to be placed out for collection in the same position where they were originally dropped off. Effectively, your bins need to be directly adjacent to the road edge, so if there is a grass berm at the edge of the road, they should be placed there.

Where there is a side road, the wheelie bins will need to be wheeled down the side road and placed on the road edge at the main road. Council is offering towing devices at cost to allow bins to be can be towed behind cars if the wheelie bin needs to be moved some distance.

The wheelie bin truck will not be going down private right of ways. Aside from the fact that private right of ways are not public roads, they are generally too narrow and also present a safety hazard if the vehicles cannot turn and have to back out of the lane.

Note: Refuse trucks will not be driving on the grass verge as they have a mechanical grab system enabling them to pick up the bins from the kerbside. If there is any damage to grass verges as a result of the wheelie bin trucks, please contact Council on 03 769 8611.

Rubbish - Yes. Any sort of liner or bag may be placed in the refuse wheelie bin. Please keep in mind that when the bin is emptied, the entire contents of the bin will be tipped into the back of truck, including any liner you may have in your bin.

Recycling - No. Please do not put any sort of liner in the recycling wheelie bin.

COLD ashes can go into the refuse bin. By COLD ashes, we mean ashes which have stood for at least two days.

Food scraps that people cannot dispose of by other means (for instance a compost bin, worm farm or an "insinkerator") should be wrapped, bagged and placed in the refuse bin.

Machined wood can be treated with a range of preservatives to prolong its life as it is used for outdoor purposes but it is difficult to identify whether the wood has or has not been treated to protect it from fungicides, pesticides, fire or from ultra violet light.

Please place all building material scraps, processed (either treated or machined) wood, off-cuts and residues such as sawdust and cold ash into your rubbish bin, not your recycling bin.

Please do not put gas cylinders in your kerbside wheelie bins. Gas cylinders can be dangerous and may even explode! Please take your gas cylinders to the McLeans Pit Landfill and they will take them for free.

People will appreciate that this is a serious issue for the waste collection operators with respect to health and safety. The range of refuse and recycling materials that can be placed in the wheelie bins has been outlined in the information booklet provided with your bins. Material that is excluded will include medical waste that is deemed to be hazardous. It is expected that people working in these industries will have a good knowledge of what is hazardous. For further information, please contact Council on 03 769 8611.

Cardboard is asked to be kept separate from other recyclables for commercial collection but if your shop has plenty of both cardboard and other recyclables, you can put your cardboard out for collection either in the recycling bin on the specified day (refer to the commercial collection calendar) or broken down, tied and stacked outside the respective business for collection.

At present Council does not subsidise the provision of worm farms. Individuals who want this may wish to make a submission to Council for its next Annual Plan (submissions open in March/April each year).

The truck operator has cameras in the cab and is able to monitor what is being dumped from the wheelie bin into the waste/recycling collection truck. If your recycling is contaminated, your bin will be stickered accordingly. Repeat offences may mean your bin will no longer be emptied.

Council understands the Blue Bin service is continuing and the green top bin service is being withdrawn. Please contact the provider of these bins to confirm their intentions.

Your new blue crate goes out the same day as your yellow bin.