Council owns and operates transfer stations in Tokoroa and Putāruru. Greenwaste mulching takes place in Tokoroa. All of these sites are managed for Council by private operators in accordance with appropriate plans and consent conditions. For more information on our facilities, please follow this link.
Council provides weekly refuse and fortnightly kerbside recyclable collection from urban areas paying for this service, in Arapuni, Putāruru, Tīrau and Tokoroa. For more on our recycling service, please follow this link or for the recycling calendar please click here.
Council also provides for litter collection in our CBD areas and parks and reserves.
For transfer station fees follow this link here.
Due to the high costs associated with disposing of contaminated recycling, Council’s contractor has been instructed to no longer empty contaminated household recycling crates.
This page contains information on what CAN and CAN’T be recycled in the South Waikato.
Crates and wheelie bins with the following contamination issues will not be emptied. They will be stickered and an education flyer left in the mailbox to help residents improve their recycling efforts. Repeated stickering may initiate the Three Strikes and You're Out system
Here are the top five tips for recycling in the South Waikato. If you get this right, you’re well on your way to being a top recycler!
There are a number of products on the market that people commonly think can be recycled, but they can’t be; so we need to remove these items from our recycling.
The plastic recycling symbol is usually on the bottom of the product. Only 1s, 2s and 5s can be recycled.
If you can’t see a recycling symbol or there is no number in the symbol, put the item in your rubbish. Sadly, Council has no control over the visibility of these symbols or the size of them!
There are millions of products on the market. We cannot list them all!
What is central government doing about recycling?
Ministry for the Environment have a work programme for waste which includes;
Why must we remove lids, caps and tops?
These items are too small to be processed and are therefore NOT able to be recycled.
How can I find out more about going plastic free entirely?
Visit the Plastic Free July website here.
Is cling wrap or plastic wrap recyclable?
Soft plastics such as cling wrap, rubbish bags, meat tray wrappers, fruit and vegetable packaging bags can NOT be recycled.
Does this information apply to the recycling drop-off zones?
Yes. Signage has been installed to assist.