Rubbish & Recycling
Whanganui residents in the urban area use privately owned companies for kerbside rubbish collection. The rural rubbish collection service is a combination of kerbside collections and pick-ups from rubbish bag and site bin collection points. The Resource Recovery Centre in central Whanganui is a one-stop shop for recycling drop-offs and waste minimisation.
Urban rubbish collection
Whanganui District Council does not operate a kerbside rubbish collection service within the urban area. However, there are a number of privately owned and operated user-pays rubbish collection services. The two main providers are listed below.
EnviroWaste
EnviroWaste, based at 27 Gilberd Street, offers a wheelie bin-only collection service.
Waste Management
Waste Management, based at 14 Liffiton Street, offers both a rubbish bag (until 31 December 2020 only) and wheelie bin collection service. They can be contacted on (06)348 8009.
As part of a commitment to sustainability, Waste Management will no longer collect Whanganui’s waste in single-use plastic bags as of 31 December 2020. Instead Waste Management will offer the community wheelie bin waste collection services. View Waste Management’s website for more information here.
Putting out rubbish bags (until 31 December 2020 only)
Rubbish bags need to be placed at the kerbside no later than 7.00am on the day of collection to ensure they will be picked up, with a genuine Waste Management pre-paid yellow sticker attached. Pre-paid stickers are available from your local dairy, supermarkets and a variety of other stores. Visit the Waste Management website for more information on bag collection stickers.
Rubbish bags that do not meet the conditions outlined on the sticker will not be collected. Missed bags should be placed back on the kerbside by 7.00am on the morning of the next collection. Alternatively they can be disposed of at the Midtown Transfer Station in Liffiton Street at no extra cost to the bag owner. Waste Management does not operate a missed bag service.
Collection days and times
EnviroWaste and Waste Management provide wheelie bins of varying sizes and collection frequencies.
Rubbish bags and wheelie bins need to be placed at the kerbside no later than 7.00am on the day of collection to ensure they will be picked up. Rubbish is collected between 7.00am–4.30pm. Please refer to the map below to see which day rubbish is collected in your area.
Domestic rubbish bags can also be dropped off during normal operating hours at the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre at 79–83 Maria Place Extension for $4.00 each (regular rubbish bag) or $6.00 each (large rubbish bag - approx. wheelie-bin size).
Green, garden and other domestic waste
Green waste can be disposed of at the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre. You can also take green waste to the Midtown Transfer Station in Liffiton Street, run by Waste Management.
Charges apply. Locations, contact details and hours are listed below.
Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre
79–83 Maria Place Extension (next to the Fire Station)
Phone: (06) 348 7950
Monday–Sunday, 9.00am-4.30pm
Closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday and New Year's Day
Email: accounts@wrrc.co.nz
Midtown Transfer Station
14 Liffiton Street
Phone: 0800 10 10 10 Monday–Saturday: 8.00am–4.30pm
Sunday and public holidays: 9.00am–4.00pm
Closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday and Anzac Day (until 1.00pm)
You can read about changes to Transfer Station charges on the Waste Management website.
Rural rubbish collection and drop-off
The rural rubbish collection service is a combination of kerbside collections and pick-ups from rubbish bag collection points and site bins where rubbish can be dropped off.
Rural kerbside rubbish collections
The rural rubbish collection service is a combination of:
- kerbside pick-ups
- pick-ups from refuse bag collection points and
- rural refuse sites where rubbish can be dropped-off.
Kerbside pick-ups
Rural rubbish kerbside pick-ups require Waste Management's yellow stickers (attached to a 60 litre black garbage bag).
Pick-ups from refuse bag collection points
For pick-ups at refuse bag collection points, all refuse must be bagged up, have a yellow Waste Management sticker attached and be compliant with the conditions outlined on the sticker.
Refuse bags and bins must be placed on the kerbside, or where applicable at the bag collection point, no later than 7.00am on the day of collection to ensure they will be picked up.
You can find the rural collection map here.(PDF, 8MB)
Rural refuse sites
Waste Management collects waste from 13 pickup points within the district.
Sites are a mix of weekly and fortnightly pick-ups. These sites are for the deposit of normal household/domestic waste by locals: no animal, toxic or commercial waste is allowed.
Sites of bins and service frequency:
- Whanganui River Road
- Parakino - Fortnightly
- Atene - Fortnightly
- Koroniti - Fortnightly
- Matahiwi - Fortnightly
- Ranana - Fortnightly
- Jeruselum - Fortnightly
- Pipiriki - Fortnightly
- Parihauhau - Weekly
- Tehue - Weekly
- Mangamahu - Fortnightly
- Ngaturi - Fortnightly
- Kauarapaoa - Fortnightly
- Kawhaiki - Monthly
Domestic rubbish bags (without a Waste Management sticker) can also be dropped off at the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre, 79-83 Maria Place Extension. Charges apply ($4.00 each for a regular rubbish bag and $6.00 each for a large rubbish bag).
For more information on rural rubbish collection, please email Graeme Paulger at graeme.paulger@whanganui.govt.nz
Recycling
The Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre is a one-stop shop for resource recovery and waste minimisation in the Whanganui District. It opened in August 2013, replacing the Peat Street Recycling Centre.
The Centre is open 24/7 for dropping off the following recyclable materials: glass, plastics, cans, clothing, paper and cardboard.
During normal opening hours – Monday to Saturday 8.30am–4.30pm and Sunday 10.00am–4.00pm – you can also drop off tyres, waste oil, e-waste, whiteware and green waste.
Visit the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre website.
A-Z directory for recycling and repurposing
The ReSource Whanganui website provides a handy A-Z directory with information on recycling and repurposing specific items here in Whanganui.
Just click on the letter, whether it's A for aerosol or Z for zipper, and you'll be taken straight to the relevant piece of advice for our local situation.
The ReSource Whanganui website was developed via a collaboration between Whanganui District Council, Sustainable Whanganui and the Whanganui Resource Recovery Centre.
Waste Minimisation Fund
Apply online
Through the Waste Minimisation Act 2010 a levy is charged for waste taken to landfills throughout the country. Of this levy, 50% is allocated to councils for promoting waste minimisation services and practices. Whanganui District Council has used this levy money to create a Waste Minimisation Fund.
The fund provides financial assistance, by way of grant, seeding finance or loan, for waste minimisation initiatives that boost Whanganui's waste minimisation performance by increasing resource reuse, recovery and recycling and decreasing waste to landfill.
If you would like to apply for funding for a waste minimisation initiative, please complete the application form below. For further information on the Waste Minimisation Fund, please contact Stuart Hylton on 06 349 0001 or email stuart.hylton@whanganui.govt.nz
Litter
The fine for depositing litter in a public place or on private land without the occupier’s consent within Whanganui City’s boundaries is $400.00. It was previously $100.00.
The Litter Team
The Council operates a Litter Team that collects litter and illegally-dumped rubbish throughout Whanganui City, including roadsides and public parks.
Operating during the working week except Wednesdays, the team works to a set programme of areas for litter collection. The team also responds to reports of littering and illegal dumping from the public.
The Litter Team consists of a permanently-employed team leader, plus up to four additional workers who are employed on six-monthly contracts and are subsidised by Work and Income New Zealand.
Snap Send Solve
The Council supports the use of the Snap Send Solve smartphone app as a fast and easy way for members of the public to report issues or incidents, including illegal rubbish dumping, to the Council using photos.
Snap Send Solve works by identifying where an image was taken using a smartphone’s GPS location. It then allows the user to choose the incident type and select the Council’s email address to send through their photo. The option of including additional details is also available.
The Council’s Customer Services team will then log your incident report with the relevant Council team and send you a confirmation email.
The Snap Send Solve app is available for iPhone and Android operating systems, and is free to download from the App Store and Google Play.