Kerbside collection and transfer station FAQ's

When are the transfer stations open?

Kāwhia Transfer Station is open Mondays 9am-12pm

Ōtorohanga Transfer Station is open Wednesdays 9am-12pm

This is for disposal of prepaid yellow bags only.  No other refuse or recycling will be accepted.

 

What information do I have to provide to enter the transfer station?

Name, phone number and email address.

 

Why are the transfer stations not accepting recycling and green waste?

Recycling drop-offs at the station will not be permitted due to a lack of storage space at the facility and safety concerns over the virus being spread to staff who manually sort the items. Once the facility can safely receive recyclable materials for sorting and processing, the station will be able to resume recycling drop-offs.

 

Why do I have to clean glass put out for kerbside recycling?

To ensure our drivers and runners are safe they are not able to handle the items put out for collection at this time. So we are asking for all glass items put out for recycling to be washed clean so they can be recycled. If they are not clean they will go to landfill.

 

Why can I not put out plastic for kerbside recycling?

We’re unable to collect tins, cans and plastics because these items get sorted by hand. Please continue to reduce your waste or pop your plastics, tins and cans in your yellow rubbish bags to go to landfill or store them on your property.

 

Are we still stockpiling our recycling in Alert Level 3?

We recommend that people don’t stockpile, this is based on official advice from the Ministry for the Environment. However, if you are currently stockpiling, we recommend you focus on clean glass jars or bottles, and cardboard boxes that have not contained food and can be stored in bundles somewhere safe and dry.

 

Why is stockpiling not recommended now?

Stockpiling is undesirable because:

• Overtime it can become a health hazard, so if you store anything, please wash it thoroughly.
• Many residents do not have capacity to store recycling long term.
• Once the alert levels reduce, the recycling system may be unable to cope with large amounts of stockpiled recyclables.

 

Why did the Council tell us to stockpile originally?

This pandemic is a first for us all and we only had a couple of days to prepare for the lockdown, similar to many other essential services. We did the best we could with the advice given to us and believed that stockpiling recycling was the best option at the time.

 

 What do I do with new recycling?

From now we recommend you begin putting all new recycling into your yellow bags until we move to Alert Level 2.

 

Will recycling be available at Alert Level 2?

We are unsure at this stage. We are still waiting for more in-depth direction from Central Government on what will be allowed in level 2.