This means that if we find non-recyclable items in your bin repeatedly, we will suspend your recycling service and take away your recycling bins.
In 2022 our recycling ambassadors started monitoring recycling bins to check that the contents are not contaminated.
To avoid any confusion, please make sure you know which bins are yours by writing your address on them.
Non-recyclable items can contaminate an entire recycling load, which then must go to the landfill. Some items can also put the people who sort your recycling at risk of injury or harm.
If you have any questions about the 3-Strikes Process or want to know more about how to recycle, please visit poriruacity.govt.nz/recycling, email [email protected] or call 04 237 5089.
Click here to download a poster about what goes in, and what stays out, in your language here.
If your bin has been removed, you will need to fill out a Bin Return Agreement, agreeing to only put recyclable items in your recycling bin. You will also need to pay a fee $83.40 to have your bin returned. We will aim to deliver your bin to you within 14 working days.
There is an identification number on the side of your recycling bin – this is unique to each property in Porirua. If you want to check you are using the correct bin allocated to the property you live in, you can call our contact centre on 04 237 5089 with the bin number and they will check for you.
Yes, you can.
If you have received a strike letter but your bin wasn’t contaminated, please call our contact centre on 04 237 5089. Every bin that receives a strike is identified with a number, and a photo of the contaminated contents is sent to our contact centre, but it’s possible that someone else is using the bin that is allocated to your property.
Cardboard, plastics 1, 2 and 5 (no lids), tins, cans and paper.
Please see our website https://poriruacity.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/recycling-collections/ for more information
Clean bottles and jars. No lids, please.
Please see our website https://poriruacity.govt.nz/services/rubbish-and-recycling/recycling-collections / for more information
The fee that’s charged ($83.40, which includes GST) covers the collection, emptying, cleaning and re-delivery to your property as well as administration time by our staff.
Strikes will be removed after 12 months.
The green tick shows you have cleaned up your bin and can now be emptied on the next collection day. The green tick sticker is used when someone has received a strike on their bin, but then they remove the contaminated contents in time for the next collection – it indicates to the recycling collection truck that the bin is fine to empty.
This means you have non-recyclable items in your bin. This is your first warning. Please take out the non-recyclable items so that your bin can be emptied next time.
This means you have non-recyclable items in your bin for a second time. This is your final warning. Please take out the non-recyclable items so that your bin can be emptied next time. If this happens again, your bin will be taken away.
This means you have non-recyclable items in your bin for a third time and your bin has been removed. You will receive a letter in the post informing you of your next steps.
If the recycling ambassador checks your bin that has previously received an orange or pink sticker, and your bin is clean of contamination, they will apply a green tick sticker that indicates to the recycling collection truck that your bin is fine to empty.
Your bin will be emptied on the next collection day.
Contamination is where the wrong thing is put into the recycling bins. This can be anything from the wrong plastics to hazardous items such as dirty nappies, rotting food and broken glass.
The rules around what can and can’t go in each bin have been made to protect the health and safety of staff and to ensure a cost-effective and efficient service is provided to ratepayers. The success of the service relies on everyone putting the right items in the right bins.
If the contamination is really bad, we cannot risk their safety and the whole truckload of potentially useful recyclables must then go to the landfill.
The wheelie bins are allocated by the Councils to individual rate payers/property owners. All bins have a unique ID which can be scanned to identify what property the wheelie bin is allocated to.
If a property currently has the service suspended but the tenancy changes, you can request for the bins to be delivered and the service to be reinstated.
If a property that currently has the service suspended is sold to another occupier, the service is reinstated immediately.
Yes, the charge remains while the service is suspended. Remember that if you don’t recycle properly, your contaminated recycling can contaminate the entire truck, wasting the efforts of other residents. Having your service suspended is the third step in the 3-Strikes Process.
