FAQs

Why was my bin only half emptied?

Although our team try their best to collect all the contents of your bins, sometimes things can get stuck, even after the arms of the truck have shaken them multiple times. 

Here's a few tips to help stop this happening to your bins:

• Don't overfill your bins. The more things you stuff into your bins, the harder it is for them to come out. 
• Try going plastic bag free. Plastic bags not only take up more space in your red rubbish bin, but they can also stick to the sides of the bin.
• Make sure there's no wet paper or cardboard in your bin.
• Put heavy items at the bottom of your bins, so when they are tipped upside down by the truck, gravity does the rest.  

Where do I take my excess waste?

What if I need a new set of bins?

Each property is entitled to one set of bins. The bins belong at the property and must remain there if you move house. 

If you have just moved house or have moved into a new build and there are no bins on the property please contact us on 07 838 6699 or info@hcc.govt.nz and our team will look into organising bins for the property. If you can, please talk to the previous property owner first to see if they took the bins on accident. If the property is a rental please contact the property manager or landlord as it is their responsibility to pay for replacements. 

If you suspect that your bins have been stolen or have been damaged please get in touch with us within 5 days on 07 838 6699 or info@hcc.govt.nz and our team can look into this for you. Please keep in mind that there may be a fee for replacement bins. The wheelie bins and food scraps bin have an embedded radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag so if they're found we may able to return them to their owner.

What goes inside each bin?

Yellow wheelie bin

• Plastics numbered 1, 2 and 5
• Paper and cardboard
• Tins and cans

Green food scraps bin

• Fruit and vegetables
• Bread, dairy and cooked food
• Meat and fish bones
• Egg shells and seafood shells
• Coffee grounds
• Indoor cut flowers

Blue recycling crate

• Glass bottles
• Glass jars

Red wheelie bin

Anything that cannot be reused or recycled such as:

• Nappies
• Plastic toys
• Used tissues
• Broken glass (wrapped in newspaper)
• Cat litter etc.

What should I do if I have excess glass?

Each household is entitled to one set of bins each. You can only put one bin out on your collection day, either the red landfill bin, yellow recycling bin or glass recycling crate. The green food scraps bin is collected weekly.  

We do understand that for some residents this may not be enough, and for those who have excess glass recycling there is the opportunity to recycle it for free at the Lincoln Street Resource Recovery Centre. 

The decision to move to a fortnightly collection of one glass crate was based on waste assessments and community consultations conducted in 2016-2017. These showed us that residents wanted their glass collected separately from the other recyclables, and that for the majority of Hamiltonians, one glass crate per fortnight would suffice.