Recycling in Northland

Annually, New Zealanders create 8.7 million tonnes of rubbish. That’s an average of two tonnes per person of waste from all sources. The average Westerner produces 500 kg of “municipal waste” a year (which seems about right, as a proxy for household waste - a 10 kg bag each week). In a month, New Zealand’s rubbish would cover a rugby field and pile it 30 stories high. To ensure that the land of the Long White Cloud is not completely covered in waste, we really need to be more proactive with our recycling.

Here’s a great example from our friends in Northland:

Accessories crafted from recycled materials are growing in popularity as consumers continue to seek out more environmentally friendly products. Plastic supermarket bags, old TV wire and milk bottles are among items being refashioned by Northland artists into high-fashion jewellery. The novel jewellery includes recycled resin pendants and collector-teaspoon necklaces and can be found selling in the Tuatara Design Store in Whangarei.

Check out their website: www.tuataradesignstore.co.nz

This is a common question that our customer service team receives through the Live Chat feature on the website.  And the answer really depends on the type(s) of waste that you will be disposing of.  On some occasions, you may require two bins.  If you have a look at our frequently asked questions page, you will see the different types of waste that can go in the bins:

• General Waste is typically anything involved with a “general cleanup around the house and section” that is neither liquid nor of a hazardous nature
• Use a Cleanfill / Hardfill skip bin, if you have any of the following:
  Concrete, soil, sand, clay, rocks, rubble, bricks, sand, asphalt, ceramic tiles
• Use a Green Waste skip bin, if you have any of the following:
  Grass, leaves, tree trimmings, small branches and other organic materials.

Hopefully this helps clear up some of your questions.  In the event that you still require further information, please feel free to contact us via our Live Chat and our friendly customer support team will be happy to assist you.

On Monday State Highway 29 between Tauranga and Matamata was closed for about three hours while the road was cleared after a rubbish truck flipped when its trailer tipped.

The truck left the road in the Kaimai Ranges, taking a chunk out of a bank before its trailer flipped and spilled waste over the road.

The truck was taking waste to Hampton Downs in Hamilton when the trailer tipped on its side on the Omanawa River Bridge, so far it is uncertain why this happened.

Find out more: http://msn.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10578676