7 February 2005

Good riddance to bad rubbish

It’s time to start clearing out garages, sheds and closets of all the junk accumulated over the past two years.

The household inorganic collection on the Auckland isthmus starts again in late February.

Warwick Jaine, resource recovery manager for Auckland City, said residents should wait until they get the collection leaflet in their letterbox before they put rubbish on the kerb.

“The leaflet is the green light for residents to put out their inorganic rubbish. Rubbish put out before this time is actually considered illegal dumping and can incur a fine,” he said.

“The collection does not cover the whole isthmus at one time. It is actually staggered across different areas. We need residents to understand that the collection may be happening in the street next to theirs but their street may be in the next collection area. This is why waiting for the leaflet is so important.”

Households will receive the leaflet two weeks before the collection.

Residents can put out items that are not recyclable, are too large for the weekly collection but that can be lifted by two people. This includes:

- fridges/whiteware
- glass - residential type only
- old televisions
- car doors, bonnets, boot lids
- mattresses
- corrugated iron
- bulky items that can't be placed in normal MGB collections
- electrical appliances
- timber - up to 2 wheelbarrows in volume only
- tyres (these should be separated from the rest of the rubbish because a different truck picks these up).
Items that cannot be put out for collection are:

- trees
- hedge clippings
- garden waste
- rock or rubble
- building waste
- demolition material
- any objects that cannot be lifted by 2 people
- car wrecks
- engine blocks
- paint tins and other hazardous materials.

Hazardous materials can be disposed of at the Hazmobile collections that are running in April, May, July and October.

For further information on the inorganic collection or Hazmobile, residents should visit www.aucklandcity.govt.nz

ENDS

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