Inorganic rubbish collection coming soon to a street near you
Auckland City’s $1.8 million inorganic rubbish collection begins this month. The city has been divided into 17
collection areas, each of which will be collected in one week, and contractors will be progressively collecting rubbish
from all the city’s residential properties until June.
Inorganic rubbish is not collected from the central business district. Residents of apartment buildings in the CBD
should take any inorganic rubbish to their nearest transfer station.
Two weeks before the collection beings in each area, a leaflet explaining the collection process and giving the local
collection dates will be delivered to each household.
The inorganic rubbish collection is a two-yearly event. The bill for the 2003 collection from the city’s 138,000
households is $1.8 million.
“Our inorganic rubbish collection gives residents an opportunity to clear out items that cannot be recycled, or are too
large for their wheelie bins, and are not hazardous,’’ says Councillor Bill Christian, chairperson of Auckland City
Council’s Works Committee.
“Inorganic collections can make our beautiful city look rather untidy at times, so we should all do our best to keep the
kerbsides as tidy as possible, and wait for our notification leaflet before putting out rubbish,” says Mr Christian.
"Any material put out that is not in a notified collection area will be classed as illegal dumping and could attract a
fine. This includes material put out too early". Auckland City says tyres and scrap metal (including whiteware) should
be separated from other inorganic rubbish, as different contractors will collect these items. For safety reasons, remove
doors from stoves, fridges and other appliances, detach powers cords from faulty electrical items, and wrap broken
glass.
Inorganic rubbish does not include kitchen and garden rubbish, rock, stone or concrete, or demolition or building
materials.
“Most of what is put out for the collection will end up in a landfill, so let’s all play our part and help get our
rubbish sorted by making sure we don’t put out items that can be recycled, given to charity or sold,” says Mr Christian.
The inorganic collection will again include the HazMobile service. From March to August, the HazMobile will be at five
different locations around the city where residents can drop off hazardous household rubbish. HazMobile dates and
locations are in the flyer that each household will receive two weeks before the inorganic rubbish collection.
Hazardous household products include paint, furniture and shoe polish, car products (petrol, oil and batteries), kitchen
and oven cleaners, wood preservatives, pool chemicals, bleach and disinfectants, garden chemicals (fertilisers and
pesticides), toilet and drain cleaners, glues, and gas cylinders.
The HazMobile will not accept asbestos, medical waste, ammunition and explosives, and hazardous commercial waste.
“The HazMobile service is a good example of how Auckland City and the ARC are working together to help residents dispose
of hazardous household rubbish in a responsible way,” says Mr Christian.