Recycle What You Can

We all know that it is important to recycle. Recycling waste materials into new materials lessens the need to extract new raw materials from the environment and uses less water and energy than manufacturing virgin materials. However, there is still a lot of valuable materials going to landfill in our residential and commercial waste streams - we can do better!

The Junction Zero Waste Hub runs education tours at the recycling facilities in New Plymouth and hosts a number of events and workshops throughout the year.

What can and can’t be recycled at home

For household information on what you can and cannot recycle at kerbside in each district of Taranaki, refer to your Council recycling guide below:

For businesses, and commercial recycling services see the following business section:

It’s important to follow Council recycling guides closely, as contamination through non-recyclable items in the recycling system can at times render the materials worthless and result in it all being sent to landfill. For those people without kerbside recycling, recyclables can be dropped off free of charge at your local transfer station.

Check out the Zero Waste Taranaki website to find out more about what to do with your waste. And have a look at our community story on the different types of plastics to learn about which ones can be recycled in Taranaki.

Business recycling and services

The following service providers cater to business recycling needs in Taranaki.

General recycling:

  • Envirowaste - recycle paper, cardboard and co-mingles recyclables

  • Full Circle/Oji Fibre Services - recycle paper and cardboard

  • Return to Earth - recycle organic material, pallets, cable drums and untreated waste timber

  • Taranaki Drum & Pallet Recycling - recycle drums and pallets

  • Waste Management - recycle paper and cardboard, Plastics 1-7, Steel & Aluminium Cans, Glass, Green Waste, Organic Waste, Fluorescent tubes, Batteries, Oily Rag’s & Filters, Scrap Steel.

Metal recycling:

  • See the following section for options.

E-waste

Electronic waste or e-Waste contains hazardous metals and plastics which can cause harm to the environment and human health if not disposed of appropriately. Electronics also contain valuable metals that should be recycled into further products, with correct separation.

There are currently available at New Plymouth’s Colson Road Transfer Station and Stratford Transfer Station. Charges apply, but are subsidised by the New Plymouth District Council and the Stratford District Council in their respective areas. 

If you have donations of any working IT items available, the Bishops Action Foundation ICT Gateway project is able to distribute these to local community organisations, hapū an iwi. For old items OfficeMax will take any residential e-waste at their New Plymouth store, as long as you can walk items in in your arms.

Scrap metal recycling

Metal is one of the easiest materials to recycle. If you can’t reuse an item or gift or sell it to someone else, local scrap metal recyclers will pay you in cash to take metals. These include:

Green waste

Organic material such as food scraps and green waste make up a large and unnecessary portion of what goes to landfill. Green waste can be dropped off for a lesser fee than general waste at your local Transfer Station. Alternatively, purchase a compost bin at your local garden center and get composting!

Batteries, toner cartridges and other household items

For New Plymouth District residents, you can also download the NPDC Rubbish and Recycling app, which includes a comprehensive list of what can be recycled locally.

The Junction - Zero Waste Hub is now collecting batteries at the Reuse Shop

If you know of other stockists/retailers/suppliers/services or all round fantastic sustainable sources please let us know so that we can share.