Statistics on rubbish collection in Christchurch.

The Council’s contractor collects rubbish from the red-lidded wheelie bins placed at the kerbside every second week. The standard sized rubbish wheelie bin is 140 litres. This is the maximum size available for rubbish.

On average, every fortnight 79% of rubbish bins were presented for collection in 2021/22. The average weight of a bin is 13.19 kg.

The Council’s contractor collects the organics (food and garden waste) from the green-lidded wheelie bins placed at the kerbside every week. The standard-sized organics wheelie bin is 80 litres. It is possible to request a 240 litre organics bin instead, for an additional annual charge.

On average, every week 63% of organics bins were presented for collection in 2021/22. The average weight of a bin is 10.8kg.

The Council’s contractor collects recycling (paper, cardboard, glass, metal and plastic containers) from the yellow-lidded wheelie bins placed at kerbside every second week. The standard sized recycling bin is 240 litres. It is possible to request a second 240 litre recycling bin for an additional annual charge.

On average, 77% of properties presented wheelie bins were presented for collection in 2021/22. The average weight of a recycling bin was 8.67kg.

The waste sent to landfill from Council facilities includes rubbish from:

  • Christchurch and Banks Peninsula kerbside wheelie bins
  • rubbish dropped off at Council transfer stations 

The types of recoverable and non-recoverable waste sent to landfill 2018:

Type of waste disposed 2018 audit figures
Compostable green waste 9.67%
Food waste 0.05%
Recyclable plastics 10.11%
Recyclable paper/ cardboard 15.58%
Glass bottles/ jars  1.31%
Ferrous metals  1.75%
Non-ferrous metals  1.11%
Aerosol cans  0.01%
Rubbish 43.51%
Timber 8.17%
Clothing, textiles 5.57%
Electronic waste 2.25%
Concrete waste, ceramics, rubble 0.76%
Domestic batteries 0.04%
Household hazardous waste 0.11%
Total 114,833 tonnes