Recycling and Rubbish
Kaikoura District is a 'Zero Waste Community'. Our vision is to send zero waste to landfill. We currently divert approximately 75% of our waste away from landfill.
On this page:
- Household rubbish
- Household recycling
- Top tips for households
- Business rubbish and recycling
- Top tips for businesses
- Public bins, dumped waste and public toilets
- How IWK and Council work together
Households:
Rubbish disposal: There is no roadside rubbish collection in Kaikoura. Household waste needs to be taken to Innovative Waste Kaikoura (IWK).
IWK opening hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Thursday Friday: 9am -4pm
Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays: 10am - 4pm
Tuesdays, Good Friday and Christmas Day: Closed.
Recycling collection: Weekly roadside recycling collection is available throughout the District. If the collection day is a public holiday, it will be collected the next working day.
- Kaikoura Township and South Bay - Weekly Thursdays
- Ocean Ridge - Weekly Wednesdays
- Clarence & Kekerengu - Weekly Wednesday Mornings
- Oaro/Goose Bay (including all properties south of the closed State Highway area) - Fortnightly on a Wednesday (Note this will be reviewed as the road situation changes.)
- There are also a number of rural drop off sites - read more about rural recycling
Recycling bins: Are available from IWK, to arrange yours fill out a New Urban Recycling Crates form and hand it into Innovative Waste Kaikoura.
What can be recycled: Please make sure all items are bundled and tied with string or in a bin or bagged securely. Please rinse all items.
- Plastic: all hard and soft plastic. Clean plastic bags, cling wrap, etc
- Paper and card: cardboard, mixed paper, newspapers, letters, envelopes, junkmail
- Metal: cans, tins, aluminium and steel
- Glass: should be separated from other recycling
The following items can also be dropped off for at IWK for recycling, they must be clean and re-usable:
- No charge: Light bulbs,clothing, household items, toys, sports gear, curtains, bedding, furniture, old office equipment.
- May be a small charge: electronic items, old appliances, cars, mobile phones, batteries, oil, printer cartridges,
- Disposal bags available for: disposable nappies, sanitary items
Top tips for households cutting costs, helping our environment and making the most of free recycling:
- Remove all recyclable material. Includes, plastic, paper, cardboard, metal and glass. Even broken glass and crockery can be recycled. This can be disposed of at (or collected by) IWK free of charge.
- Remove hazardous substances. Includes house and garden chemicals and cleaners, medicines. Small amounts can be disposed of at IWK free of charge. For larger volumes a small charge may apply.
- Compost/recycle all food waste. That includes any and all food scraps, dated or expired food, napkins and paper food wrapping. This can all can be disposed of at IWK free of charge. (Township residents can have theirs collected for free.)
- Compost/recycle all garden waste. Includes: grass cuttings, tree and shrub trimmings, leaves, weeds and general garden waste. This can be disposed of for a small fee at IWK.
- Disposable baby nappies, sanitary items, etc can be disposed of at IWK's Nappy Disposal Station in a special bag (avaiable for purchase from IWK). There is no additional charge after you buy a bag.
Businesses rubbish and recycling:
Business are required by our District Plan to separate waste and recycling.
Businesses recycling can be disposed of free of charge at IWK. Alternatively, a business recycling collection service is offered Mondays and Fridays from $11.25 per week. Find out more from Innovative Waste Kaikoura (IWK).
If your waste can’t be recycled, it can be taken to IWK and its' disposal paid for by weight or you may be able to have it collected for a fee. Find out more from Innovative Waste Kaikoura (IWK).
Top tips for businesses for cutting costs, helping our environment and making the most of free recycling:
- Make sure your staff are trained to use the recycling system
- Separate at source: have a separate bin for each item inside your business in each area, and a recycling area outside that is easily accessible
- Have a kitchen system: even if you kitchen is only a smoko room, have a bucket for food waste, another for glass, one for other recycling, and one for waste.
- Appoint a recycling champion: use them to train new staff and keep everyone recycling.
Public bins, dumped waste and public toilets:
Although both IWK and Council are committed to keeping our District and its facilities clean and tidy, to keep the costs of these services acceptable to the ratepayer, we have to make sensible decisions about how often things are cleaned/checked.
Council is currently working with IWK to make sure the appropriate contracts, people and communications are in place to allow IWK to look after the Districts public bins, toilets and deal with dumped waste.This includes:
- making sure there is a 24/7 contact phone number for the public to report issues with toilets/bins/dumped waste (including human waste)
- making sure toilets are checked and cleaned as often as is required
- making sure bins are emptied as often as required
How IWK and Council work together:
Innovative Waste Kaikoura is a Council Controlled organisation. Council contracts IWK to deliver services including managing the District’s recycling and rubbish, maintaining public toilets and looking after some of our water infrastructure and services. IWK also provides waste management services to other private business.
Useful links:
