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Landfills, Hazardous Waste & Recycling

On this page you will find information and links relating to landfills, hazardous waste, agrichemical disposal and recycling within the Hawke’s Bay. Find out who to contact at Hawke’s Bay Regional Council and your local City of District Council for further information.

pollutionAbout Waste in Hawke's Bay

​New Zealanders throw away 3.6 million tonnes of rubbish every year. If we were to measure this in 9 tonne buses it would equate to 400,000 buses of rubbish – that’s more than 1000 buses every day. Like the rest of New Zealand, waste in Hawke’s Bay is increasing. At the same time we are becoming more aware of the potential effects of waste disposal.

You can find information about recycling, and public landfills and how to deal with contaminated sites, farm plastics and unwanted agrichemicals below.

For more information about waste disposal or collections in your area, or to find out how to reduce waste in your home, business or school, contact your local city or district council.

What are the issues?

Waste management is an issue of growing public concern. The major players in waste management throughout the region are the city and district councils. They provide services like rubbish collection and disposal, sewage disposal and the management of hazardous substances.

Problems include:

  • The smell, dust, leachate, health problems and loss of amenity values associated with waste disposal
  • The management of existing landfills and potentially damaging leachate from closed landfills
  • The disposal of large volumes of industrial and domestic organic waste
  • The identification and management of contaminated sites
  • The safe disposal of unwanted agrichemicals and hazardous waste in the region

What can we do to reduce waste and protect our environment?

  • Reduce, re-use and recycle waste
  • Reduce the demand for products and ensure efficient production through cleaner production so less raw materials are needed
  • Manage and re-use organic material to reduce the effects of odour, dust and leachate
  • Enhance the “life” of existing landfills through reducing waste
  • Find out about the safe disposal of hazardous waste

Who do I contact?

For further information about recycling, green waste, Haz mobile collection and other options for disposal of hazardous waste contact your local council.

Central Hawke's Bay District Council
Napier City Council
Hastings District Council
Wairoa District Counci

Farm Plastics

Some of the largest volumes of waste farm plastic are silage wrap and empty agrichemical containers. One of the best options is to reduce the on farm use of agricultural plastics. Storing silage in covered barns is a great option to reduce you footprint and reduce reliance on plastics. Dispose of your farm plastics at the local council transfer station or via Agrecovery. Agrichemical containers must be triple rinsed and punctured and cap removed (so the cap doesn't fly off and hit someone when it is crushed).

Plastic bale and silage wrap can be recycled through a product stewardship scheme operated by Plasback who offer an on farm collection service.

Agrecovery operate product stewardship schemes for many common agrichemical brands. Smaller plastic chemical containers and larger drums can be recycled through there on farm collection service or regular drop off events. For more information visit the Agrecovery website.

Farm and agricultural plastics that cannot be substituted for more sustainable materials or methods should be recycled appropriately where possible. Plasback New Zealand offer a range of recycling and collection options for many common agricultural plastics including bale wrap, feed bags, woven polypropylene bags, and shrink wrap.

To arrange a collection or find out what other services are offered please visit Plasback

Agrichemicals and Hazardous Waste

 

The Hawke’s Bay regional Council in cooperation with Agrecovery provide a facility for the disposal of unwanted agrichemicals. This is operated on behalf of the Council by the 3R Group. In many cases the service will be provided at no cost to you. Contact 3R Group or visit their website to book a collection, they will be able to let you know if you qualify for free collection:
3R Group
409 Queen Street, Hastings, 4122
Tel: 06 872 7235
Web: https://3r.co.nz/chemcollect/

Why are there so many unwanted agrichemicals out there?

Since 1999 there have been key developments in the horticultural industry that have resulted in fewer petrochemicals able to be used by growers. The amount of agrichemicals being collected has however remained relatively constant, party due to the following factors:

  • Organic certification - the increase in growers changing to organic production in Hawke's Bay, resulting in strict audits by organic certifying organisations requiring the removal of all non-organic chemicals form the properties.
  • Agrichemical use restrictions - due to increasing pressure from overseas buyers or groups, ENZA and pipfruit export organisations that resulted from the deregulation of the pipfruit industry, have increasinlgy reduced the range of agrichemicals that could be used. While this has been good for the long term environment, it has meant that much of the bulk quantities purchased at the end of each financial year could not be used and remained unused or forgotten about in sheds.
  • Grower audits - overseas buyer groups such as Tesco, Nature's Choic, Sainsburys and the GLOBAL G.A.P.audit requirments have resulted in on-site auditing of grower properties, which require the removal of an increasing range of agrichemicals which are no longer approved for application.

Growing public awareness of the known and unknown impacts of chemicals on our health and environment are driving responsible disposal practices.

If you have an environmental asbestos incident or complaint to report please contact our pollution hotline as soon as possible on +64 0800 108 838.

Asbestos is a common problem throughout New Zealand and may be present in buildings and structures built between 1950 and 2000. Worksafe New Zealand provide comprehensive information on asbestos and how to manage it whether you are a home owner, business or industry. Professionals working with asbestos are required to meet the requirements of the Health and Safety at Work Act. We always recommend that you engage a professional asbestos operator if you suspect that you may encounter asbestos during the work. If you are carrying out the work on your own property ensure that you learn about the risks and precautions before starting any work yourself.

Disposing of Asbestos, asbestos should always be disposed of by a registered professional. Transfer stations within the Hawke’s Bay do not accept asbestos and it can only be disposed of at Omarunui Landfill, Farm road Landfill and Wairoa Landfill by registered asbestos removalists.

  • e-Waste including batteries, computers and electronic goods. Product stewardship schemes are operated by major electronic produces through the Techcollect program. Batteries and a variety of other e-waste can also be disposed of at the Environment Centre Hawke's Bay.
  • Automotive wastes such as oil, fuels and antifreeze are generally disposed of by your mechanics, however if you are undertaking the work yourself this can be disposed of at HazMobile collection that are held annually by local Councils. For larger or commercial quantities Waste Petroleum Combustion Ltd collect and recycle used oils to be used in other products
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