Part 9: Waste Management -
Terms & Conditions
Terms & Conditions for Collection Services & Landfill Use
These terms and conditions for collection services and landfill use were made by resolution pursuant to the Wellington City Consolidated Bylaw 2008 part 9 - Waste Management.
December 2008
1. Introduction & Commencement
1.1 These are the Council resolutions made pursuant to the Wellington City Council Consolidated Bylaw 2008: Part 9 - Waste Management, and should be read in conjunction with it.
1.2 These resolutions shall come into force on 18 December 2008.
2. Terms & Conditions for Collection Services
2.1 The Council has approved the following 'official containers' for use for Council collection services:
- yellow pre-printed plastic bags intended for non-divertible waste
- green plastic bins for divertible material
- white plastic bags for divertible material.
2.2 No person shall:
- put or cause or allow anyone else to put waste or divertible material or a collection container for waste or divertible material, approved or otherwise, in a public place other than during the permitted times, as stated in clause 2.11, without the prior written permission of the Council
- allow or cause or allow anyone else to allow the placement of waste or divertible material, including hazardous substances and building materials, in a public place in such a manner as to create a risk to members of the public
- allow or cause or allow anyone else to allow any leakage, spillage or fugitive (wind-blown) waste or divertible material to be released from their containers onto public places.
2.3 No one shall put or cause or allow anyone else to put into any container for collection any hazardous substance, including those that require special handling as defined by the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996, the most common of which are listed below:
- explosive or any highly flammable material
- radioactive material, asbestos or paint
- trade refuse, offal, dead animals or infectious matter
- any waste removed from any part of a drainage or sewerage system
- hot ashes. Cold ashes must be well wrapped to protect anyone handling the bag from the risk of breathing ash dust
- unwrapped sharp objects. Any broken bottles, glass items or sharp objects must be well wrapped to protect anyone handling the bag from injury.
Note to clause 2.3:
Household substances which are excluded from the collection services may be taken to the Hazardous Waste Storage Facility at the Southern Landfill.
2.4 No person shall put out any approved container for collection that, with contents, weighs more than 15 kilograms.
2.5 Waste or divertible material must be correctly separated and treated before being put into approved containers, or public litter or recycling bins, for collection. Divertible material put out for collection must be clean, and not contaminated by food or other organic material which may attract rats or disease. The following can be placed in approved containers for collection:
- aluminium cans - wash and squash
- steel
- glass bottles and jars
- plastic bottles - numbers 1 and 2 - wash, squash and remove the lids
- cardboard and plastic milk cartons - wash and squash.
2.6 Approved containers put out for collection must securely contain all material within the container and be placed:
- as close to the kerb as possible, or in line with any permanent obstructions, without obstructing the footpath or carriageway
- directly in front of the residence or premises discarding the refuse, where possible
- out at times consistent with 2.10 (a) or (b)
- out at any other specified place or time as determined by the Council from time to time.
2.7 The following additional material may be put out for collection:
- cardboard - flattened and securely tied with string or tape into bundles under 15kg in weight
- paper of any kind, unless it is waxed, or has plastic or food on it - contained in a bag, such as the standard plastic supermarket bags, with handles tied.
2.8 The containers, and any uncollected waste or divertible material outside of an approved container, intentionally or otherwise, remains the property and responsibility of the depositor and is considered litter under the Litter Act 1979 if not removed from the public place.
2.9 The noise generated during the collection and placement processes of any waste and divertible material management is subject to the District Plan noise controls requirements at all times.
2.10 The permitted times for placing approved containers, and any additional material as set out in clause 2.7, in public places for the collection of waste and divertible material are as follows:
- For the Central Area, as defined in the District Plan, no container, waste or divertible material is permitted in public places between 7.00am and 5.00pm.
- For all other areas in the District Plan, containers may be put out from 7.00pm on the day preceding collection and must be out before 7.00am, or by the latest time as notified by the relevant service provider, on the day of collection. All containers and any uncollected waste and divertible material are to be removed from the public place by 12 midnight on the day of collection.
A summary of permitted times for clause 2.10 is provided in Figure 1.
2.11 The permitted times for the collection of waste and divertible material are as follows:
- Collection is permitted at any time where the operation is completed entirely on private property.
- Collection activity is not permitted to generate any unreasonable adverse impact on the operation of the transport network or safety. Collection during peak commuter traffic times on Principal, Arterial and Golden Mile roads (as defined under the District Plan) must be avoided. Wellington City Council's Code of Practice for Working on the Road specifies that these peak times are typically weekdays between 7am and 9am and between 4pm and 6pm, and that vehicle and pedestrian traffic may not be disrupted at any time for more than 2 minutes without a Council-approved Temporary Traffic Management Plan.
- For the Central Area, as defined in the District Plan, collection is permitted 7 days per week between 6.00pm and 7.00am.
- For all other areas in the District Plan, collection is permitted only on week days and only between 7.00am and 10.00pm.
- The Wellington City Council may approve variations to collection times for reasons of health, safety or congestion. Requests can be made to the relevant Council director. Where a request for variation also requires a change in existing collection times, affected parties must be notified and given the opportunity to have their views considered. If a variation is approved, the collection service provider must notify all affected customers in writing of the times for when waste and divertible material must be put out.
A summary of permitted times for clause 2.11 is provided in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Summary of clauses 2.10 and 2.11
Central area - any day, as advised by service provider
| Collection Day | ||
|---|---|---|
Midnight to 7.00am Containers may be out |
7.00am to 5.00pm No containers, waste or divertible material allowed on public property |
5.00pm to midnight Containers may be out |
Midnight to 7.00am Collection is permitted |
7.00am to 6.00pm No collection permitted |
6.00pm to midnight Collection is permitted |
All other areas - Monday to Friday
7.00pm on the evening before collection day to midnight on collection day Containers may be out |
7.00am to 10.00pm on collection day Collection is permitted |
2.12 The emptying of pedestrian bins in public places in association with street cleaning activity may occur on any day and time.
2.13 The provision and maintenance of temporary bins in areas of short-term increased demand, such as for events, may be approved under the Footpath Management Policy 2007.
2.14 Inorganic collections, such as community clean-ups at beaches or other public areas, may occur on any day.
3. Terms & Conditions for Household Use of the Southern Landfill
3.1 The landfill may operate during the hours as determined by the Council from time to time and published on the Council website.
3.2 A full list of material prohibited from disposal into the landfill, but which may be received from households at the Hazardous Waste Storage Facility at the Southern Landfill is to be published on the Council website.
3.3 The Council may refuse to accept for disposal to landfill the types of waste and divertible material described in clause 2.3, except that:
- while the landfill is not intended for the disposal of green waste, it will be accepted if necessary. As garden waste emits significant greenhouse gas emissions when disposed to landfill where its decay is anaerobic, home composting is by far the preferred option for this material.
- sharp objects need not be wrapped.
3.4 In addition to the restrictions described in clause 3.3, the Council may also refuse to accept for disposal to landfill:
- cleanfill
- items and material it considers, at its sole discretion, can reasonably be expected to be diverted from the waste stream.
3.5 Commercial operators are also referred to the Collection and Transportation of Waste Bylaw 1997 at http://www.wellington.govt.nz/plans/bylaws/collection.html.
3.6 The charges for disposing of waste in the landfill and for depositing divertible or hazardous material shall be as determined annually by Council through the Annual Plan process. The Council may make additional charges where special handling and/or storage is necessary, and as required by the Waste Minimisation Act 2008.
Related Links
- Footpath Management Policy
- Hazardous Substances
- Landfills
- Reduce Your Rubbish website
- Roads and Traffic
- Rubbish and Recycling
- Waste Management Bylaw
Department Details:
Policy
