Recycling and Rubbish

Illegal waste dumping includes any waste left on public property. In the last 3 years council has dealt with 17 recorded cases of illegal dumping.  Over the last few years illegal dumping has cost ratepayers approximately $10,000 a year to clean up.

Illegal dumping has damaged our environment and spoiled parts of this precious place for everyone. Dumped items have included fridges, tyres, general rubbish, animal carcasses, human waste. In addition, half a tonne of waste is taken out of the town bins every day. Town waste bins are regularly abused and used by a few locals  for household  or commercial rubbish. 

If illegal dumping continues to grow as a problem, Council may also look setting up at additional enforcement and regulatory options such as signs or CCTV in key areas.   

Help stop the dodgy dumpers 

1. Talk to your friends, colleagues, whanau and neighbours about this – spread the word that dodgy dumping is not acceptable and costs our environment and our ratepayers.
2. Tell Council about any waste you see so that we can get it fixed. Please provide any details of any vehicles involved, such as registration plate, colour, make and model. You can do this by: 
1. Putting in a request for service (leave us photos and the exact location) 
2. Calling 03 319 5026 
3. Email us
3. For safety reasons, and for us to investigate, we ask that people leave the dumped material as it is and don’t touch it.
4. What happens then? 
1. The job is logged in Council systems so we can track where issues are happening and how quickly and how well we deal with them.
2. An inspection may be needed (especially if the issue is around human waste or other hazardous materials)  
3. A clean up happens and rubbish is checked to see if it can be traced back to those responsible

What illegal dumping costs our community

Most dodgy dumping is done by a small handful of locals. Some blame recent changes at Innovative Waste Kaikoura being 'too expensive', 'too difficult' or 'not open at the right times', while there's always room for improvement, Kaikoura is actually cheaper than most of the surrounding districts, has a friendly team and is open 6 days a week for most weeks of the year. 

Read Waste Myths and Frequently Asked questions 

Our community end up losing out because of illegal dumping in the following ways:

• Council time to deal with the issue – that’s time that could be spending improving other services
• The cost to ratepayers of clean-up and disposal – that’s around $10,000 a year and expected to get more expensive unless things improve.  
• Kaikōura is home to many special native species and landscapes. This unique biodiversity helps keep our air clear, our water clean, and provide food, education, medicine and recreation for our local residents and visitors. Illegally dumping waste spoils this precious place and pollutes landscapes, waterways and marine environments.
• Litter also has impacts for our economy (e.g. tourism).

What Council and IWK do to help reduce illegal dumping

• Provide collection, recycling and rubbish disposal services  
• Budget $10,000 per year to pay for the clean-up and disposal of reported illegally dumped waste 
• Contract services for the removal of human waste.
• Provide monthly inspections and clean-ups (if needed) of key areas including , Kiwa Road and South Bay
• Provide public education on how and where to dispose of waste responsibly
• IWK is happy to work one on one with individuals, businesses or community groups to help them understand how to reduce and recycle their waste as much as possible and make visits to IWK as cheap, quick and easy as possible.
• Offenders caught illegally dumping rubbish will be ordered to remove the rubbish

Council does not remove dumped rubbish on private property. The owner of the property is responsible for the disposal of rubbish dumped on their property.

There is no roadside rubbish collection in Kaikōura. Household waste needs to be taken to Innovative Waste Kaikoura (IWK).

IWK opening hours:

• Monday 9am-4pm
• Tuesday CLOSED
• Wednesday 9am-4pm
• Thursday 9am-4pm
• Friday 9am-4pm
• Saturday and Sunday 10am-4pm

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.

• Kaikōura Township and South Bay - Weekly Thursdays
• Rural recycling collection from Suburban Primary School, Schoolhouse Road, Lynton Downs Primary School, Inland Road and Kekerengu, SH1
• Find out more on IWK's website here

Recent changes both in NZ and overseas mean it's harder or more expensive to recycle certain materials. If IWK collect materials they can't recycle, ratepayers end up paying for it over time as our landfill fills up or Innovative Waste has to pay to get rid of it. Cutting corners at the kerbside still costs your pocket in the long run. 

If you need more information, don't have a collection bin or want to check collection days/times, call the team on 03 319 7148 or visit their website or Facebook. 

Handy tips to make sure your recycling gets collected:

1. Wash and squash all recycling
2. Separate your glass
3. Flatten cardboard and stack under containers
4. Make sure your recycling is out by 7am.

 More information on the items that you can recycle available here

Business are required by our District Plan to separate waste and recycling.

Your business' 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.

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 about IWK's business services here.

Want to cut costs, help our environment and make 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.