Each Council in the Wellington region is responsible for its city or district's rubbish and recycling collection. Rubbish collection is funded through the sale of official Council rubbish bags, and only rubbish in these bags will be collected.

Council rubbish bags are different colours: in Wellington, the bags are yellow, Hutt City and Porirua's are black, and Kapiti Coast has two options: brown paper bags or green plastic bags.

You can buy rubbish bags at Council service centres, supermarkets and some dairies (local shops). The recommended retail prices for these bags vary slightly from area to area.

Suburban Collection

Secure your rubbish and recycling in bins/bags and place it on the kerb or road edge before 7.30am on the day of collection. Each council has a suburb-by-suburb rubbish collection day chart on their website. Make sure your bin and bags do not block driveways, footpaths or roads. Wrap any broken glass and other sharp objects before putting in your rubbish bag.

Recycling

Special recycling bins are available in Wellington, Hutt City and Porirua. In Wellington, green recycling bins are available from Council service centres and are for use by suburban households only. These are being gradually phased out and replaced by recycling bags.

Porirua has black recycling crates, and Hutt City has green bins like Wellington. Items for recycling must be separated. They include paper and cardboard, glass bottles, plastic and aluminium and tin/steel cans. All items need to be clean.

Kapiti Coast currently has no recycling programme but there are two recycling drop-off points where people can take their recyclable goods. One is in Paraparaumu behind Pak n Save supermarket, and the other is in Waikanae next to the Green Waste plant.

Landfills

Householders and commercial operators can take rubbish to landfills run by Wellington, Hutt and Porirua City Councils, and Kapiti Coast District Council. Most landfills have shops that sell used but serviceable goods, and many bargains can be found. See each Council's website for more detailed information about each landfill's opening hours and charges.

Hazardous Waste

Hazardous waste (anything that is toxic, corrosive, or could ignite) must not be put out for kerbside collection or taken to a landfill. Hazardous waste includes asbestos, gas bottles, paints, solvents, weed killer, pool chemicals, car batteries, petrol and oil. Instead, you must take it to the Southern Landfill Hazardous Substances Transfer Station in Wellington, off Happy Valley Road, between Brooklyn and Owhiro Bay.

Related Links

• Reduce, Recycle and Reuse - Upper Hutt City Council website
• Refuse Collection - Upper Hutt City Council website
• Rubbish and Recycling
• Rubbish and Recycling - Hutt City Council website
• Rubbish and Recycling - Kapiti Coast District Council website
• Landfill