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Putting Waste in Its Place

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We are proud to now be servicing the people of eastern Waikato with a world-class rubbish and recycling service, covering Thames Coromandel District Council, Matamata Piako District Council and Hauraki District Council.

Household rubbish is no longer collected from the kerbside in single-use plastic bags. Instead, it is collected in red-lidded wheelie bins. Replacing the blue pre-paid plastic bags with a wheelie bin reduces reliance on plastic. The rubbish bins mean no more bags being torn open by animals or birds. They’re also much safer for our contractors to empty, as the truck uses an automated arm to pick them up rather than workers having to manually handle bags.

Food scraps can now be separated out from general waste, to be collected and transported to a Waikato-based facility. There they will be transformed into nutrient-rich compost, which can then be used to supercharge New Zealand’s soil health.

Glass and recycling will continue to be processed locally for reuse.

A new kind of truck is collecting glass and food scraps at the same time. It’s been specially designed with a dual containment system to collect both waste streams and keep them separate. It’s efficient and means there will be fewer trucks needed to do the collections – which means less carbon.

Waste Management’s drivers have been recruited locally and have been working hard to learn their new routes and collections timetables. Eastern Waikato residents: If you see them out and about, give them a wave and a smile – it will mean a lot! Also please remember to be patient as there are always a few hiccups in the first few days of a new system.

Thames-Coromandel District Council Mayor Len Salt says he’s delighted to introduce the new service, which will mean a better service for ratepayers and a reduction in rubbish going to landfill. “It’s a win-win for both our communities and for the environment,” says Mayor Len. 

Waste Management Head of Operations for the Lower North Island Pete Grennell says it’s been a big and exciting project for the Waste Management team. “We’ve called in our experts from around the North Island to make sure we are ready to go from day one of the new contract. We’re very proud of the work our team has done, and very proud to be serving the people of Thames-Coromandel.”