Hauraki District Council | What Items can be Recycled?

What goes in the wheelie bin?

The wheelie bins are only to be used for:

• clean rigid plastic, grades 1, 2 and 5 only
• clean tins/cans
• paper and cardboard
• pizza boxes (remove leftover pizza)

What are rigid plastic grades 1,2 and 5?

• Drink and sports bottles
• water bottles,
• milk bottles,
• cleaning products and personal care bottles (shampoo, conditioner and body wash),
• ice cream tubs,
• margarine tubs,
• yoghurt tubs and pottles,
• take-out containers (not polystyrene),
• Prescription bottles.

All of these must have their lids removed and be rinsed clean - if you can't get the lid off to rinse the bottle clean, don't recycle it.

Soft plastics (e.g. plastic bags) can go into the soft plastics bin at:

• New World, Waihi
• Four Square, Ngatea 
• Hauraki Reuse and Repair Centre 
• Refuse transfer stations, Paeroa and Waihi.

Did you know? Bottle lids can't go in the recycling as they fall through the gaps on the recycling sorting centre's conveyor belt and cause blockages

Not all plastic is fantastic

We've compiled a helpful list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to provide further information about recycling plastics in our district.

• view the Plastic Recycling FAQs

Let's Talk Rubbish  From the kerbside to recycling...or not

What cannot be recycled in your wheelie bin?

x automotive parts
x aerosol cans (of any kind)
x batteries 
x bottle lids
x bubble wrap 
x ceramics 
x coffee capsules/pods
x crockery 
x disposal coffee cups 
x disposable face masks
x disposable gloves 
x disposable nappies
x electrical goods See Waihi E-Waste Depot
x engine oil bottles 
x food waste 
x garden waste 
x hot ashes 
x liquids
x oven ware
x paint or chemicals
x paper towels
x plastics 3,4,6,7
x plastic bags and wrappers (soft plastics)
x porcelain 
x polystyrene
x rubbish 
x takeaway cups
x tetra paks (e.g. milk, juice, ready-made custard containers) 
x tin foil 
x yoghurt containers

What goes in the blue crate?

The blue crates are to be used for:

• Glass only - empty and clean glass bottles and jars (clear, amber, blue and green).

What if I have too much glass for my crate?

Our contractors will accept extra glass bottles but they must be in an official blue crate. These are available for $15 dollars at any of our offices. Alternatively, our refuse transfer stations all accept recycling at no charge.

What cannot go in the crate?

x broken glass
x china and crockery – cups, saucers, plates –
x drinking glasses
x fluorescent tubes
x glass bricks
x light bulbs
x medical and laboratory glass containers
x opal glass
x pyrex dishes and ovenware
x window glass
x TV tubes See Waihi E-Waste Depot
x computer screens See Waihi E-Waste Depot