Find out what goes in each bin, or what can be dropped off for free at the EcoDrop Resource Recovery centres.
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Find out what goes in each bin
| Waste item | Bin type | Description | More info | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waste item | Bin type | Description | More info | Keywords |
| Aerosol and air freshener cans | Rubbish (red bin) | Aerosol, air freshener, deodorant spray, fly spray, cooking spray. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. aerosol, air freshener, cooking spray, insect repellent, fly spray and deodorant spray. Make sure aerosol cans are empty before putting them in the red bin. |
metal spray can, aerosol, spray can, air freshener, deodorant, deodorant spray, fly spray, insert spray, insect repellent, cooking, cooking spray |
| Aluminium foil | Rubbish (red bin) | Tin foil, foil tray. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. tin foil and foil trays/plates. | aluminium, wrapping, tin foil, foil tray, aluminium foil plate |
| Aluminium foil pet food containers | Rubbish (red bin) | Aluminium foil containers, pet food. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. aluminium foil pet food containers. |
cat food, dog food, My Dog pet food, Aluminium foil, Dine pet food, Apollo pet food |
| Arts and crafts | Rubbish (red bin) | Painted or glitter cardboard or paper. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. painted paper or cardboard, glitter paper or cardboard, craft glue. |
painted paper or cardboard, glitter paper or cardboard, craft glue, glitter, craft paint |
| Ash (cold) | Rubbish (red bin) | Ash, burnt timber, firewood, sawdust, timber offcuts. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. ash, firewood, timber offcuts. Let ash cool for at least five days in a metal bucket or container before disposing of in the red bin, otherwise it may cause a fire in your bin or in the collection truck. |
ash, burnt timber, firewood, sawdust, timber offcuts |
| Baby formula tins (over one litre) | Rubbish (red bin) | Baby formula tins, baby formula cans. | Put these items in the red bin. | baby formula tins, baby formula cans |
| Baking paper and grease proof paper | Rubbish (red bin) | Baking paper, grease proof paper. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. baking paper and grease proof paper. |
baking paper, grease proof paper, |
| Batteries - domestic | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | AA, AAA, C, D, cell batteries, alkaline cell, lithium, 9-volt, power tool batteries, drill batteries. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins e.g. AA, AAA, C, D, cell batteries. Batteries can cause fires in the collection trucks, potentially harming staff. You can take batteries to a Battery Recycling Station. Find out where at ccc.govt.nz/BatteryRecycling(external link). |
button cells, Cr123 camera batteries, alkaline, drycell and zinc, Li-ion batterie, NiCd, NiMH and gel cell, battery, hearing aid batteries, remote batteries, battery, torch batteries |
| Batteries - vehicle | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Lead, acid, car, boat, truck, vehicle, battery. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. It's free to drop your vehicle battery e.g car, boat, truck (excluding e-vehicle batteries) at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). This is for household batteries only, not commercial batteries. |
lead battery, acid battery, car battery, boat battery, truck battery, vehicle battery |
| Bedding | Rubbish (red bin) | Bedding, blankets, rugs, sheets, electric blanket, duvets, wool duvets. | These items can't be recycled, please put them in the red bin. This includes bedding, blankets, rugs, sheets, electric blankets, duvets, wool duvets. If these items are in good condition, you can take them to a second-hand store or your nearest EcoShop. |
Sheets, electric blanket, duvet, wool duvet, bedding, blankets, rugs, |
| Books (softcover and pages only) | Recycling (yellow bin) | Paperback, hardcover (remove hardcover or hardback from book and put in red bin), magazines. | Put these items in the yellow bin e.g. magazines, paperback books and hardcover or hardback books (remove the hardcover, hardback or spiral binding from the book and put in red bin). | paperback books, hardcover books (remove hardcover or spiral binding from book), magazines, magazines, softcover, softback, paperback, hardback |
| Breads, pastry, flour | Organics (green bin) | Pastry, flour. | Put these items in the green bin e.g. breads, donuts, pastries, croissants. | pastry, flour, flours, bread, donuts, pastries, croissants, baked goods |
| Broken bathroom/kitchen tiles | Rubbish (red bin) | Broken bathroom/kitchen tiles. | Put these broken items in the red bin. |
broken, kitchen, tiles, kitchen tiles, bathroom, bathroom tiles |
| Broken electrical appliances and kitchenware | Rubbish (red bin) | Frying pan, toaster, jug, stereo, lamps, microwave, power cord, calculator. | Put broken items in the red bin e.g. frying pans, pots, toasters, stereos, lamps, headphones, earphones (please remove all batteries). If still in a good condition, items can be accepted for free, subject to inspection, at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). |
Frying pan, toaster, jug, stereo, lamps, microwave, kettle, shaver, power cords, iron, dishwasher, calculator, kitchenware, baking dish, baking tray, pots, pans, headphones, head phones, ear phones, air buds, airbuds |
| Broken or damaged gaming consoles or DVD players | Rubbish (red bin) | PlayStation, Xbox, video recorder, DVD player. | Put these broken items in the red bin e.g. PlayStation, Xbox, video recorders and DVD players. If still in a good condition, items can be accepted for free, subject to inspection, at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). |
consoles, gaming, games, DVD, CD, playstation, xbox, video, video recorder, DVD player |
| Buckets | Rubbish (red bin) | Five litre buckets, sand buckets. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. five litre buckets, sand and toy buckets. These containers are not recyclable through the kerbside system. You may want to reuse these or donate them to a community garden. |
five litre buckets, sand buckets, toy buckets |
| Cardboard ice cream container | Rubbish (red bin) | Cardboard ice cream containers. | Put these items in the red bin. | Cardboard ice cream container |
| Cardboard trays for takeaway drink/coffee cups | Recycling (yellow bin) | Takeaway cup cardboard tray, coffee cup cardboard holder, coffee cup holder, coffee cup tray, takeaway coffee tray, takeaway coffee holder, coffee cup cardboard tray. | Put these items in the yellow bin, and the cups themselves in the red bin. |
coffee cup cardboard tray, coffee cup cardboard holder, coffee cup holder, coffee cup tray, takeaway coffee tray, takeaway coffee holder |
| CDs - DVDs and CDs | Rubbish (red bin) | DVD & CD discs and cases. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. DVD and CD discs and cases. If in a good condition these items can be accepted for free, subject to inspection, at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). |
discs, cd, dvd, case, cases |
| Cellphones, smartphones, mobiles | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | iPhones, Android phones and other phones with batteries. | Cellphones, smartphones and mobile phones with batteries can be dropped for free at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre.(external link) Alternatively, they can be taken to a TechCollect NZ(external link) or a ReMobile(external link) collection scheme location. If the battery can be removed, the phone can be put in the red rubbish bin if the battery is taken to one of the above places. |
iphone,android |
| Ceramics | Rubbish (red bin) | Crockery, cups, mugs, plates. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. broken crockery, cups, mugs, bowls and plates. Please wrap in newspaper first. If in good condition, items can be accepted for free, subject to inspection, at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). |
crockery, porcelain, cups, mugs, plates, bowls, china, broken, vase, vases |
| Cheese, yoghurt, eggs, butter | Organics (green bin) | Cheese, yoghurt, eggs, butter. | Put these items in the green bin e.g. dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt, butter, eggs and eggshells. |
cheese, yoghurt, butter, eggs, dairy |
| Chemicals - dry and liquid | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Chemicals. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. It's free to drop chemicals off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre (external link)for household hazardous waste items only e.g. no more than 20 kg or 20 litres at one time. |
swimming pool, poison, toxic, chlorine, cleaning products, cleaner |
| Cigarettes | Rubbish (red bin) | Cigarettes, smokes. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. cigarettes, smokes, tobacco. |
cigarettes, smokes, tobacco |
| Clean plastic bottles | Recycling (yellow bin) | Plastic bottles with the numbers 1, 2 or 5 on them. | Put plastic bottles (under four litres) with the numbers 1, 2 or 5 in the yellow bin. Examples include milk, juice, soft drink and water bottles. Empty, rinse and put all lids and tops in the red bin. |
milk, milk bottles, cream, cream bottles, juice, water bottles, soft drink, soda |
| Clean plastic containers | Recycling (yellow bin) | Plastic containers with the numbers 1, 2 or 5 on them. | Put plastic containers (under four litres) with the numbers 1, 2 or 5 in the yellow bin. Examples include shampoo, detergent, ice cream containers, empty cleaning and chemical containers and family sized yoghurt containers. Empty, rinse and put all the lids and tops in the red bin. |
shampoo, ajax, jif, detergent, yoghurt, yogurt, ice cream, pottle, container, dishwash, plastic, container, plastic lunch box, school lunch box, yogurt container, yoghurt container, ice cream container, liquid containers, liquid soap containers, punnets, strawberry punnets, blueberry punnets, raspberry punnets, cherry punnets, tomato punnets, fruit punnets, plastic jar |
| Cleaning paper, wipes | Rubbish (red bin) | Chemicals, paper, paper towels. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. cleaning wipes, baby wipes, paper towels, used cleaning paper and paper with chemicals on it all need to go in the red bin. |
paper towels, paper, chemicals, cleaning paper, wipes, chlorine, baby wipes, alcohol wipes |
| Clear plastic sheet | Rubbish (red bin) | Clear plastic sheet from large packaging. | Put large soft plastics in your red bin. The Soft Plastic Scheme is for small soft plastic packaging only. |
clear, plastic, sheet, large, packaging, soft |
| Cling film | Rubbish (red bin) | Cling film, glad wrap, food wrap, cling wrap. | Put these items in the red bin. | cling film, glad wrap, food wrap, cling wrap |
| Clothing | Rubbish (red bin) | Used clothing. | Put damaged clothing in the red bin. Good quality clothing can be donated to a second-hand clothing store or your nearest EcoShop. |
shirts, dresses, skirts, fabric, jeans, trousers, belts, pjs, pyjamas, sweatshirt, jersey, clothes, apparel |
| Coat hangers | Rubbish (red bin) | Coat hangers. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. plastic, metal and wooden coat hangers. | plastic coat hangers, wooden coat hangers, metal hangers |
| Coffee grounds, coffee beans and loose tea leaves | Organics (green bin) | Coffee grounds, beans, tea leaves. | Put these items in the green bin e.g. tea leaves, coffee grounds and coffee beans. | leaves, coffee grounds, grinds, beans, coffee beans |
| Coffee pods and sachets | Rubbish (red bin) | Coffee pods, pods, tea sachets, coffee sachets. | Put these items in the red bin. | Coffee pods, pods, tea sachets, coffee sachets, coffee capsules |
| Compostable and bio-degradable bags | Rubbish (red bin) | Compostable bags, bio-degradable bags, bio-degradable bin liners and doggy bags. | Put these items in the red bin. | compostable bags, bio-degradable bags, biodegradable bag |
| Computers, monitors, laptops, chargers and cords | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Computers, laptops, monitors, screens, chargers, cords, E-waste | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. Computers, laptops, monitors, screens etc can be accepted for free, subject to inspection, at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). Alternatively, you can drop them at various TechCollect Scheme(external link) locations. |
Computers, laptops, monitors, screens, computer, laptop, E waste, chargers, cords |
| Containers over 4 litres | Rubbish (red bin) | Water bottles, protein powder tubs, oil containers, cleaning containers. | Put these in the red bin e.g. water bottles, protein powder tubs, oil containers, cleaning containers. | Water bottles, protein powder tubs, oil containers, cleaning containers/ bottles, |
| Cooking oil bottles | Recycling (yellow bin), Rubbish (red bin) | Cooking oil bottles. | Put in your yellow recycling bin if clean, lidless and smaller than 4 litres. If dirty or larger than 4 litres, put in your red rubbish bin. |
cooking, oil, cooking oil, bottles, cooking oil bottle |
| Corks | Rubbish (red bin) | Cork, corks, bottle cork, bottle corks. | Put these in the red bin. | cork, corks, bottle cork |
| Damaged shoes, boots and sneakers | Rubbish (red bin) | Footwear, shoes, boots, sneakers. | Put damaged footwear in the red bin. Good quality footwear can be donated to a second-hand clothing store or your nearest EcoShop for free. |
footwear, shoe, shoes, sneakers, jandals, boots, sandals |
| Dialysis tubing and bags | Rubbish (red bin) | Dialysis tubing. | Put these items in the red bin. Double bag them first. | dialysis, tubing, kidney, urine, bag, bags |
| Disposable gloves | Rubbish (red bin) | Disposable gloves. | Put these items in the red bin. | Disposable gloves, latex gloves, rubber gloves, single use gloves, balloon |
| Dry and empty paint tins and cans | Rubbish (red bin) | Empty or dry paint cans and paint tins. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. empty or dry paint cans and paint tins. | paint cans, paint tins, paint, paint buckets |
| Eggshells | Organics (green bin) | All shells, including eggshells. | Put these items in the green bin. e.g. eggshells and seashells. |
shells, shell, egg shell, sea shell |
| Electrical appliances and kitchenware (in working condition) | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Frying pan, toaster, jug, stereo, lamp, microwave. | If these items are in good condition, they can be accepted for free, subject to inspection, at a local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link) where they are repaired for resale in the Eco Shop, or for salvage as scrap metal if too broken. Alternatively, charity shops may take these items, always check what they can accept and where to drop off the items. This is for household items only, not commercial appliances. |
Frying pan, toaster, stereo, lamps, microwave, kettle, shaver, iron, dishwasher, kitchenware, baking dish, baking tray, pans, pots, vacuum cleaners |
| Face masks | Rubbish (red bin) | Disposable face masks, face masks, disposable masks, single-use face masks, medical face masks. | Put these items in the red bin. | disposable face masks, face masks, disposable masks, single-use face masks, medical face masks |
| Ferns | Organics (green bin) | Ferns | Put these in your green organics bin (minus any soil). If they are large fronds, we would recommend cutting these up a bit. |
Plants, ferns, soil, fronds |
| Fire extinguishers | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Fire extinguishers, fire retardant | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. It's free to drop these off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). This is for household hazardous waste items only, not commercial hazardous waste items. |
fire, retardant, fire extinguishers, |
| Fish and chip wrappers | Rubbish (red bin) | Paper used for food and soiled paper. | Put these in the red bin. | Fish and chip paper, fish n chip |
| Fish tins | Rubbish (red bin) | Fish tins e.g. sardine tins, tuna tins. | Put light aluminium containers such as fish tins in the red bin. |
fish tins, tins, cans, tuna, sardine, aluminium |
| Flares | None | Distress flares. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. Out-of-date or time-expired flares may be taken back to marine retail outlets to dispose of appropriately or contact the Police for advice. Do not incinerate old flares or put them in the rubbish. They can cause fires if they ignite. Parachute flares fired horizontally are very powerful and may cause serious injuries and burns. |
flares, fireworks, sparklers, crackers |
| Flattened cardboard, cardboard rolls and egg cartons | Recycling (yellow bin) | Cardboard boxes, egg trays, egg cartons toilet roll tubes, paper towel roll. | Put these items in the yellow bin e.g. clean flattened cardboard boxes, egg trays, egg cartons, cardboard roll tubes, paper towel rolls, toilet paper rolls and cereal boxes. |
boxes, egg trays, toilet roll tubes, cardboard, cereal box, muesli bar box, Weetbix box, cardboard tubes, paper towel rolls, glossy cardboard, empty toilet roll, washing powder box, manilla folder |
| Flax and cabbage tree leaves | Rubbish (red bin) | Flax, cabbage tree, yukka tree, palm tree leaves, bamboo leaves. | Put these items in the red bin. Flax and cabbage tree leaves damage the shredder at the organic composting facility. | flax, cabbage tree, garden waste, green waste, garden leaves, yukka tree, palm tree, palm tree leaves, bamboo leaves |
| Food scraps and leftovers | Organics (green bin) | Food scraps, leftovers, food waste, food. | Put these items in the green bin e.g. leftover takeaways or meals, vegetable, fruit, expired or moldy food. | leftover takeaways, leftover meals, vegetables, fruits, expired food, moldy food, frozen food, food scraps, food waste, peanut shells, sunflower seeds, nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, almonds, peas, beans, lentils, nut shells, walnuts |
| Food soiled paper and cardboard | Rubbish (red bin) | Food soiled pizza boxes, fish and chip paper, burger bags, paper towels, tissues and shredded paper. | Put these items in the red bin. e.g. food soiled pizza boxes, fish and chip paper, burger bags, paper towels, tissues and shredded paper. |
pizza boxes, fish and chip paper, burger bags, paper towels, tissues and shredded paper |
| Fridges, ovens, dish washers | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Whiteware, kitchen appliances. | These items cannot go in the kerbside bins. It is free to drop these off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). This is for household whiteware items only, not commercial whiteware items. |
excess size, whiteware, kitchen appliance |
| Fruit - apples, bananas, pears, kiwifruit | Organics (green bin) | Fruit, apples, bananas, pears, kiwifruit, berries etc. | Put these items in the green bin. This includes all types of fruit or fruit pieces at any stage of decomposition and pits, fruit seeds and stones. | apples, bananas, pears, kiwifruit, berries, melon, nashi, persimmon, pips, fruit stone, cherries, oranges, fruit scraps, melon, grapes, strawberries, fruit seeds, pits, avocado seed, avocado pits, stone fruit, drupe, apricot stone |
| Fungicides | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Liquid copper fungicide. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. It's free to drop chemicals off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). Free only for household hazardous waste items e.g. no more than 20 kg or 20 litres at one time. |
yates, miticide, fungicide, kiwicare, shield, Dupont, garden spray |
| Furniture | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Chairs, couches, sofas, tables. | If these items are in good condition, they can be accepted for free, subject to inspection, at a local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). |
chairs, couches, sofas, tables |
| Garden waste, lawn clippings | Organics (green bin) | Lawn clippings, flowers, weeds, leaves, garden waste, bark, punga. | Put these items in the green bin e.g. lawn clippings, flowers, weeds, leaves, garden waste, bark. |
lawn clippings, grass, leaves, garden matter, branches, flowers, weeds, garden waste, green waste, bark |
| Gardening pots | Rubbish (red bin) | Plastic pots, gardening pottles, seedling containers. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. gardening pots, trays and containers. If these items are in good condition, ask your local gardening store if they want to re-use them. Mitre 10 has a takeback scheme.(external link) Bunnings also has a takeback scheme.(external link) |
plastic pots, gardening pottles, seedling containers, pot plant, garden pot, plant pot, plant punnet, terracotta pot |
| Gas bottles, gas cylinders | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Gas bottles, gas cylinders, gas canisters, butane canisters & cartridges, soda stream canisters. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins e.g. gas bottles, cylinders and canisters such as butane and soda stream. It's free to drop these off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link). This is for household hazardous waste items only, not commercial hazardous waste items. |
camping, gas fire, gas, explosives, flammable, fire works, flares, LPG, helium gas canister, LPG gas bottle, propane gas canister, butane, cartridges, soda stream, cylinder |
| General waste | Rubbish (red bin) | Broken toys, cups, plates, magnets. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. wrappers, perfume bottles, packaging, strapping, packets, broken cups, tupperware, lunchboxes, backpacks, handbags, plates, toys and magnets. |
toys, cups, plates, packaging, strapping, wrappers, glass perfume bottle, backpacks, handbags, lunchbox, lunch box, lunchboxes, tupperware, perfume |
| Glass - general | Rubbish (red bin) | Glass jug, dish, wine glasses, mirrors, lightbulbs, window glass, broken glass. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. broken glass, glass jugs, wine glasses, mirrors, dishes, light bulbs, window glass. Please wrap in paper before putting in the red bin. If still in good condition they can be taken to a local second-hand shop or EcoShop. |
glass, jug, dish, casserole, wine glass, household glass, mirrors, lightbulbs, window glass, windscreen, eco lightbulbs, broken glass, vase, vases |
| Glass bottles and jars | Recycling (yellow bin) | Wine bottle, drink bottle, beer bottle, glass jars. | Put these items in the yellow bin e.g wine and beer bottles, soft drink and juice bottle and glass jars. Rinse, empty and put tops or caps in the red bin. |
wine bottle, water bottle, drink bottle, beer bottle,cider bottle, soft drink bottle, jam jars, preserving jars, olive oil, soy sauce oil, sauce jar, |
| Guns, bullets, ammunition | None | Ammunition, bullets, guns. | Items like these can't go in the kerbside bins. Contact the Police firearms disposal or a local gun club. | bullets, guns, firearms, explosives, ammunition |
| Hair, pet fur | Organics (green bin) | Fur, hair. | Put these items in the green bin. | human hair, pet hair, fur |
| Hardcover books | Rubbish (red bin) | Books with hardcover or hardback, notebooks, spiral binding. | Put these in the red bin. |
notebook, books, hardover, hardcover books, spiral binding, hardback |
| Herbicides, garden spray | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Versatill, clopyralid. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. It is free to drop herbicides off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link) at a transfer station. Free only for household hazardous waste items e.g. no more than 20 kg or 20 litres at one time. |
versatill, clopyralid, garden spray |
| Home decor | Rubbish (red bin) | Rugs, homeware, wallpaper offcuts, hot water bottle. | Put these items in the red bin. Examples include wallpaper offcuts, ornaments, bedding, curtains, photo frames and rugs. If these items are in good condition they can be taken to a second-hand store or local EcoShop. |
pillows, duvet covers, sheets, towels, curtains, wallpaper offcuts, hot water bottle, bedding, blankets, carpets, underlay, fabric, rugs, photo frames, photos, frames, carpet, underlay |
| Hose, sprinkler system | Rubbish (red bin) | Garden hose, sprinkler system, plastic hose fittings. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. hoses, pipes and hose fittings. These items can damage the recycling plant. | hose, irrigation, pipe, garden hose, plastic hose fittings, appliance hose |
| Insulation packaging My Food bag | Rubbish (red bin) | Insulation packaging, My Food Bag, plastic bags, wool packaging. | Put these items in the red bin. | Insulation packaging MyFood bag, plastic bags, wool |
| Ivy / Invasive plants | Rubbish (red bin) | Ivy / invasive plants / noxious weeds. | Put ivy, other invasive plants and noxious weeds in your red rubbish bin. |
Ivy, invasive, plants, weeds, noxious |
| Kitchen bin rubbish bag | Rubbish (red bin) | Plastic bin bags. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. plastic waste bin bag, kitchen plastic bag, rubbish bin liners. |
waste bin bag, kitchen plastic bag, bio-degradable bags, kitchen tidy bag |
| Kitchen paper towels | Rubbish (red bin) | Shredded paper, serviettes. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. food-soiled paper, serviettes, kitchen paper towels, margarine paper and butter paper. |
Newspaper, domestic quantities of shredded paper, food-soiled paper, serviettes, kitchen paper towels, margarine paper, butter paper, butter wrap, tissue paper |
| Laminated paper | Rubbish (red bin) | Laminated paper. | Put this in your red bin. |
laminated paper |
| Lids, caps and tops | Rubbish (red bin) | Bottle tops, caps. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. bottle tops, caps and container lids. Lids are too small to go through the recycling processing plant. | lid, lids, bottle tops, caps, container lids, ice cream lids, coffee cup lids |
| Liquid or drink cartons | Rubbish (red bin) | Juice, dairy, coconut water, alternative milk cartons or boxes. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. milk and juice cartons, coconut and plant-based milk cartons, Tetra Pak and coconut water cartons. |
Milk cartons, milk boxes, juice cartons, juice boxes, coconut water boxes, drink cartons, up&go, tetrapack, tetrapacks, tetra pack, tetra pak, tetrapak, beef stock containers, beef stock cartons, stock cartons, chicken stock cartons, fish stock cartons, vegetable stock cartons, juice, apple juice, fruit juice, almond milk, soy milk, cashew milk, soup carton |
| Liquids, solvents, sprays, oil | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Oil, paint, water, solvents, garden sprays, cleaning products. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. Please do not put any liquids in the kerbside bins. It is free to drop these off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link) at a transfer station. Free only for household hazardous waste items e.g. no more than 20 kg or 20 litres at one time. |
oil,paint,water,solvents,pesticides,herbicides,fungicides,cleaning,cooking,oil,vehicle,car,engine |
| Makeup, cosmetic and hygiene products | Rubbish (red bin) | Plastic and glass roll-on deodorant, makeup, cosmetic tubes. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. roll-on deodorant, makeup, cosmetics, makeup and cosmetic containers, jars, bottles etc. These are too small for our recycling sorting machinery to process. There may be another way to recycle through cosmetics stores and dentists that host TerraCycle(external link) boxes such as Mecca and Chemist Warehouse. |
roll on deodorant, makeup, cosmetics, makeup and cosmetic containers, jars, bottles, roll on, |
| Meat and bones | Organics (green bin) | Lamb, beef, goat, pork, bones, fish. | Put these items in the green bin e.g. lamb, beef, goat, pork, bones, chicken, chicken carcass. You can put cooked and uncooked meat products, bones, fat and skin in the green bin. |
lamb, beef, goat, pork, bones, meat, fish, chicken bones, fish bones, carcass, venison, mince, steak, roast, cow, sheep, chicken |
| Medicine packets | Rubbish (red bin) | Medicine packets, blister pack, pill packets. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. medicine packets, medicine packs, blister packs, pill packets and medicine sachet packs. |
medicine packets, medicine packs, Blister pack, pill packets, pills, medicine sachet packs, medication packets, medication packs |
| Metal | Rubbish (red bin) | Tools, pans, fry pans, building material, reinforcing, knives, cutlery. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. tools, pans, fry pans, building material, reinforcing, knives, cutlery. If they are still in good condition, it is free to drop household metal at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link), or you may wish to search online for a scrap metal dealer. Note: if paint tins still contain paint, please search paint for instructions. |
metal rods, building material, reinforcing, scrap metal, tools, pots, pans, fry pans, spades, garden tools, hammer, garden equipment, steel, knives, cutlery, spoons, forks, aluminium underfloor insulation |
| Metal and aluminium cans and tins | Recycling (yellow bin) | Food and drink cans and tins. | Put drink cans and food tins that are under one litre in your yellow recycling bin. Please empty and rinse first. If the lids are still attached, push them into the can and these can be recycled. If lids are removed, please put them in the red bin. Aluminium fish tins such as sardine and tuna cans must go in the red rubbish bin. |
container, can, metal cans, drink cans, food tins, food cans, soda can, soft drink can, beer cans, cat food, dog food, whiskas, pedigree, tins, aluminium, fish, sardine |
| Metal lids | Rubbish (red bin) | Metal lids, jar lids, glass bottle lids, wine, beer bottle, glass jars. | Put these in the red bin e.g. metal lids, jar lids, glass bottle lids, wine bottle, beer bottle and glass jars lids. |
Metal lids, jar lids, glass bottle lids, wine, beer bottle, glass jars, lids, beer, beer caps, cap, wine lids, jar lid |
| Mop | Rubbish (red bin) | Mop. | Put this in your red rubbish bin. Alternatively, drop it for free at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link) if still in good condition. |
mop |
| Netting bags and produce bags | Rubbish (Red bin) | Fruit, orange, lemon, lime, produce, citrus and grocery bags. | Please put these items in the red bin e.g. netted fruit bags, produce bags, netted shopping and grocery bags. |
fruit, oranges, lemons, limes, produce, groceries, citrus |
| Packets and wrappers | Rubbish (red bin) | Biscuit wrapping, chip packets, biscuit inners and trays. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. biscuit wrappers, chocolate packaging, roll-up wrappers, chip packets, biscuit inners and trays. |
biscuit wrapping, biscuit trays, chip packets, biscuit inners, biscuit packets, biscuit wrappers, soft plastic, chocolate bar, roll-up wrappers. |
| Paint | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Paint, paint can, spray can, paint bucket. | These items cannot go in the kerbside bins e.g. paint, spray cans and paint buckets. It is free to drop paint off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link) at a transfer station. Free only for household hazardous waste items e.g. no more than 20 kg or 20 litres at one time. Alternatively, see if your paint brand has a return scheme. |
paint can, paint, spray can, paint bucket, paint tin, paint |
| Paper | Recycling (yellow bin) | Newspaper, magazines, phone books, brochures, envelopes. | Put these items (no smaller than a standard envelope) in the yellow bin e.g. newspaper, magazines, non-tinfoil wrapping paper, phone books, brochures, paper bags, brown paper bags with handles and envelopes (including window envelopes). |
newspaper, magazines, phone books, brochures, junk mail, circulars, envelopes, bill envelopes, window envelopes, brown paper bags, flyers, fliers, advertisements, junkmail, paper bags, glossy paper, patterened wrapping paper |
| Pens and pencils | Rubbish (red bin) | Pens, pencils. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. pencils, pens, crayons, paint brushes, felts and markers. |
Pen, pencils, felts, crayons, chalk, permanent markers, sharpies, paint brushes, art paint tubes |
| Personal hygiene | Rubbish (red bin) | Personal, hygiene, sanitary items, disposable nappies, baby wipes, sanitary pads. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. disposable nappies, baby wipes and sanitary pads. |
personal, hygiene, sanitary, disposable nappies, nappies, baby wipes, sanitary pads, towels, nappy, diaper, pads, tampons |
| Pesticides, rat and slug bait | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Rat bait, slug bait, bait, spider spray, poison, toxic items. | These items cannot go in the kerbside bins. It is free to drop these off at your local EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link) at a transfer station. Free only for household hazardous waste items e.g. no more than 20 kg or 20 litres at one time. |
rat bait, slug bait, bait, spider spray, poison, toxic, garden spray |
| Pizza boxes (clean) | Recycling (yellow bin) | Clean and empty pizza box with all food removed (oil marks are okay). | Put these items in the yellow bin e.g. clean and empty pizza boxes with all food scraps removed. Oil marks are okay. |
Pizza boxes, pizza |
| Pizza boxes (dirty) | Rubbish (red bin) | Pizza box with food scraps. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. pizza boxes with food scraps. Alternatively, put the food scraps in the green bin and the clean pizza box in the yellow bin. |
Pizza boxes, pizza |
| Plastic cups, plates and utensils | Rubbish (red bin) | Plastic cups, wine glasses, plates and utensils. | Put these in the red bin e.g. plastic cups, plastic plates and plastic utensils. |
plastic spoons, plastic forks, plastic knives, plastic cups, plastic wine glasses, plastic platter dish, plastic plates, picnic utensils, disposable, reusable |
| Plastic lids and tops | Rubbish (red bin) | Plastic lids, lids. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. lids or tops on milk, yoghurt, butter, margarine, soft drink and juice. |
lids, plastic lids, coke, milk, sprite, juice bottle, yoghurt, plastic, coffee cup lids |
| Plastic meat trays | Recycling (yellow bin) | Clean plastic meat trays. | Put clean plastic meat trays with the numbers 1, 2 or 5 in the yellow bin. Remove and place the plastic wrapper in the red bin. |
meat trays, meat tray, plastic meat tray, plastic meat trays |
| Plastic milk bottles | Recycling (yellow bin) | Plastic milk bottles. | Put these items in the yellow bin e.g. milk, chocolate, coffee and other flavoured milk bottles. Empty, rinse and put all lids and tops in the red bin. |
milk bottles, chocolate milk, flavoured milk, ice coffee bottle, |
| Plastic plant pots | Rubbish (red bin) | Plastic plant pots, seedling pots. | Plastic plant pots go in your red bin, or you can take your clean plant and seedling pots to a Mitre 10 plant pot recycling(external link) or a Bunnings plant pot recycling(external link) scheme. |
Plant pot, pots, plastic, seedling pot, seedling, plant, pot |
| Plastic strapping | Rubbish (red bin) | Strapping, ties, rope, cord. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. strapping, ties, rope and cord. These items can damage machines at the recycling processing plant. |
strap, strapping, ties, tie, rope, cord |
| Plastic water bottles | Recycling (yellow bin) | Plastic water bottles. | Put these items in the yellow bin e.g. plastic water and drink bottles. Remove lids and put lids in the red bin. |
water, plastic bottles, water bottle, drink bottle, |
| Polystyrene | Rubbish (red bin) | Polystyrene meat trays, polystyrene packaging. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. polystyrene meat trays and polystyrene packaging. | meat trays, trays, packing, packaging material, styrofoam, thermocol |
| Polystyrene meat trays | Rubbish (red bin) | Polystyrene meat tray. | Put these items in the red bin. |
Polystyrene meat tray, meat tray, meat trays |
| Poo and animal waste | Rubbish (red bin) | Faeces, poo, animal waste, dog poo, doggy bag, kitty litter, cat litter, feathers. | Put these items in the red bin including animal fur and feathers. Please bag faeces, animal waste and cat litter. | faeces, poo, animal waste, cat litter, kitty litter, dog poo, dog shit, feathers |
| Printed photos | Rubbish (red bin) | Photos, photography, printed photos, photography prints, photo films. | Put these in the red bin. |
photos, photography, printed photos, photography prints, film |
| Radioactive waste | None | Medical waste. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. Low levels generated from hospitals and laboratories, along with industry smoke detectors may be dropped off at a transfer station. Any other radioactive waste needs to be disposed of through a licensed medical waste disposal facility. |
isotopes, radioisotopes, health care |
| Razors and blades | Rubbish (red bin) | Razors and blades. | Please wrap in paper before putting in the red bin. |
Razors, blades |
| Receipts and tickets | Rubbish (red bin) | Receipts, plane tickets, airline tickets, event tickets, concert tickets. | Put these items in the red bin. |
Receipts, tickets, event tickets, plane tickets, airline tickets, concert tickets |
| Seat belts, belts | Rubbish (red bin) | Belts, seat belts. | Put these items in the red bin. These items can damage machines at the recycling plant. | belts |
| Sharps | None | Needles, syringes. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. Sharps and needles require specialist disposal, contact your healthcare provider. | needles, syringes, medical waste, blades |
| Shells, seafood, fish | Organics (green bin) | Shells, seafood, fish. | Put these items in the green bin. | shells, seafood, fish, shellfish, shell fish |
| Shredded paper | Rubbish (red bin) | Shredded paper, shredded office paper, shredded packaging paper. | Put these items in the red bin. | shredded paper, shredded office paper, shredded packaging paper |
| Silicone items | Rubbish (red bin) | Silicone items e.g. baby bottle teats, nipple shields, baking trays. | Put silicone items in the red bin e.g. baby bottle teats, nipple shields, baking trays. |
Silicone, baking tray, baby bottle teats, nipple shields |
| Small bits of paper (smaller than an envelope) | Rubbish (red bin) | Small bits of paper, ripped paper. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. ripped paper, small pieces of paper, small paper notes. |
small bits of paper, ripped paper, small paper notes |
| Small dead animals | Red | Small dead animals such as rats, mice and birds. | Small dead animals such as rats, mice and birds can be double-bagged and placed in the red bin. | Dead rat, dead mice, dead mouse, dead bird, mice, mouse, rat, bird |
| Small plastic items | Rubbish (red bin) | Credit cards, loyalty cards, pill bottles, small yoghurt pottles, toothpaste tube. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. credit cards, loyalty cards, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and pill bottles. If the plastic item is smaller than an individual yoghurt pottle, it can't be recycled. |
credit cards, EFTPOS cards, membership cards, loyalty cards, pill bottles, medicine bottles, yoghurt pottles, yoghurt, toothbrush, toothbrushes, beer bottle tops |
| Smoke detector | Rubbish (red bin) | Smoke alarm, house alarm. | Put these items (with the battery removed) in the red bin e.g. smoke detectors and alarms. Batteries can cause fires in the collection trucks and plants, take removed batteries to a Battery Recycling Station.(external link) |
smoke, alarm, detector, house alarm, smoke detector |
| Soft plastics | Rubbish (red bin) | Shrink wrap, glad wrap, bubble wrap, shopping bags, plastic bags, all bags, chip bags, biscuit trays, biscuit packets. | Put these items and all soft plastics in the red bin or take to a Soft Plastics Takeback bin(external link). Examples include plastic bags, bubble wrap, shopping bags, chip packets, frozen food bags, cereal inner packets, shrink wrap and glad wrap. Note: biscuit trays are not taken in these bins, put these in the red bin only. |
carry bags, disposable shopping bags, reusable shopping bags, plastic bags, shrink wrap, bubble wrap, plastic bags, plastic wrapping, wrapping, bread bags, cereal inner packets,chip packets, chip bag, biscuit inners, biscuit trays, biscuit liners, supermarket vegetable and fruit bags, bubble wrap, courier bags, pellet fire bags. Heartland chip packet |
| Soil, dirt, compost | Rubbish (red bin) | Dirt, compost, soil, potting mix. | Put small amounts of soil in your red bin. Trucks can't lift bins over 70kg. Take large amounts of dirt, soil, potting mix and cleanfill to the EcoDrop Transfer Station. (external link) |
dirt, cleanfill, compost, potting mix, soil |
| Sponge | Rubbish (red bin) | Sponge e.g. kitchen sponge, organic compostable sponge | Put these items in your red rubbish bin. Alternatively, you can put an organic compostable sponge in your home compost, but they cannot go in any of your kerbside bins. |
sponge, kitchen sponge, compostable, organic |
| Stainless Steel Kitchen Tools | EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre | Stainless steel whisk, spatula, grater, can opener, pizza cutter etc | Drop these items for free at your nearest EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre(external link) who accept both kitchenware and scrap metal. Alternatively, they can go in your red bin. |
stainless steel, whisk, spatula, grater, can opener, pizza cutter, garlic crusher, can opener |
| Stones, rocks, gravel | EcoDrop transfer station | Stones, rocks, gravel. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. These items damage the collection vehicles and machines at the processing facilities. Take these to your local EcoDrop transfer station(external link) as hardfil. |
stones, rocks, gravel, bricks, concrete, boulder |
| Storage containers | Rubbish (red bin) | Large storage container, home organiser, storage boxes/bask. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. storage boxes, clothes basket, home organiser. You may wish to reuse them, donate them to a school, non-profit organisation or EcoShop. |
large storage container, home organiser, storage box, storage boxes, storage basket, underbed storage container, large plastic container, clothes basket |
| Supermarket checkout bags | Rubbish (red bin) | Plastic and fabric supermarket checkout bags. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. supermarket bags, fabric bags, tote bags, plastic bags. | supermarket bags, plastic bags, checkout bags, fabric bags, plastic fruit and vegetable bags, re-usable bags, tote bag, fabric bag, fabric bags |
| Takeaway coffee and drink cups | Rubbish (red bin) | Takeaway coffee and drink cups, Glopac cups. | Put all takeaway cups and straws in the red bin. |
Takeaway coffee cup, glopac coffee cup, glopack |
| Takeaway food containers | Rubbish (red bin) | Takeaway coffee cups, compostable packing, Eco food packaging, takeaway containers, takeout boxes, biodegradable containers, takeaway soft drink cups. | Put all of these items in the red bin. Examples include takeaway coffee and soft drink cups, bio and compostable takeaway boxes and packing, eco food packaging, plastic takeaway containers, takeout boxes. |
compostable, eco food packaging, takeaway containers, takeaway packaging, takeout boxes, takeaway coffee cups, coffee cups, KFC, McDonalds, Burger King, Wax, noodle boxes, burger boxes, drink cups, cardboard, coated cardboard, takeaway soft drink cups, sushi pack, sushi container, sandwich container, sandwich pack |
| Tea bags | Rubbish (red bin) | Tea bags. | Put these items in the red bin. | tea bag, tea bags |
| Timber | Rubbish (red bin) | Off-cuts, treated timber, sawdust, timber trellising, building. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. timber off-cuts, treated timber, sawdust, processed wooden timber. | off-cuts, timber, treated timber, processed timber, sawdust, timber trellising, building materials, machined, wood, plywood, chipboard, MDF, GIB, gib board, plasterboard, wooden, pallets. crates, wooden pallets, wooden crates |
| Tin foil and pie trays | Rubbish (red bin) | Aluminium wrapping, tin foil, pie trays. | Put these in the red bin e.g. tin foil, oven/pie trays, foil wrapping paper and aluminium wrapping. | aluminum wrapping, tin foil, pie trays, foil wrapping paper, aluminum wrapping |
| Tissues, used tissues | Rubbish (Red bin) | Tissues, used tissues. | Put these items in the red bin. | Tissues, used tissues |
| Tussock | Organics (green bin) | Tussock, lawn clippings, lawn, grass. | Please put these in the green bin e.g. tussock, lawn clippings, lawn, grass. | tussock, lawn, grass |
| Tyres and wheels | EcoDrop Transfer Station | Car, 4x4, vehicle rubber wheels. | These items can't go in the kerbside bins. Take to your local EcoDrop transfer station.(external link) Please don't put in the kerbside bins as it damages the collection vehicles and machines at the processing facilities. |
Car, 4x4, vehicle, wheels, rubber |
| Vacuum dust | Rubbish (red bin) | Vacuum cleaner dust/contents. | Put this in the red bin. |
cleaner dust, vacuum cleaner bag, vacuum cleaner bag dust, dust, hoover, lint, clothes drier lint |
| Vegetables, carrots, kumara, beans, pumpkin | Organics (green bin) | Cooked, raw, decomposing vegetables. | Put all vegetable items in the green bin. This includes cooked or raw vegetables and vegetable pieces at any stage of decomposition. |
carrots, parsnips, potatoes, beans, onions, tomatoes, corn, mushrooms, peas, lettuce, yam, kumara, peelings, rotten, vege scraps, food scraps, vegetable peels, vegetables |
| VHS tapes | Rubbish (red bin) | Video tapes. | Put these in the red bin. These items are not recyclable through the kerbside service. | video tapes, cassette tapes, audio tapes |
| Water filter cartridge | Rubbish (red bin) | Water filter cartridge | These go in your red bin. |
water, cartridge, water cartridge, water filter, filter, filter cartridge |
| Wire | Rubbish (red bin) | Florist wire, fencing wire. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. florist wire and wiring. You can take large bales of wire to the EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre.(external link) |
fence, wire, wiring, florist wire, flower wire, fencing |
| Wood pellet | Rubbish (red bin) | Wood pellet. | Put in your red bin. Alternatively, you can drop for free at your nearest EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centre (external link)if in good condition. |
wood, pellet, wood pellet |
| Wood shavings | Rubbish (red bin) | Wood shavings e.g. untreated wood from hand planing. | Put untreated wood shavings in your red bin. The composting plant cannot tell the difference between treated and untreated wood shavings. |
wood shavings, wood, shavings |
| Wooden plates, skewers and sticks | Rubbish (red bin) | Wooden and bamboo plates, wooden cutlery, skewers, ice block sticks, ice cream sticks, kebab skewers, takeaway skewers. | Put these items in the red bin e.g. wooden and bamboo plates, cutlery, skewers, ice block sticks, ice cream sticks, kebab skewers, takeaway skewers. |
Wooden skewers, ice block sticks, ice cream sticks, kebab skewers, takeaway skewers, wooden chopsticks, bamboo stickers, bamboo stakes, sticks, stakes |