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Waikato District Council - Te Kaunihera aa Takiwaa o Waikato

What can go in kerbside recycling

Find out what you can and can’t put in your recycling crates.

How to recycle

  • Check the bottom of plastic containers, bottles and trays for the numbers 1, 2 or 5 inside the recycling symbol.
  • Remove all container and bottle lids, triggers and pumps, plastics from garden shed or garage – these can go in your rubbish. 
  • Rinse all plastics, tins, cans and glass.
  • Do flatten cardboard and break up large boxes into pieces smaller than 50cm x 50cm. Cardboard and paper can be contained in a small box (like a beer box), paper bag, or tied with jute string.
  • Place your weekly recycling into a teal green Waikato District Council recycling crate. You can put out up to two recycle bins for collection per week.
    • Glass in one crate 
    • Tins, cans and plastics (labelled 1, 2 and 5) in the other crate
    • If you only have one crate, please rotate your recycling. Glass one week and plastic, tins and cans the next week. A second crate can also be purchased from any council office. 
    • Place cardboard/paper between or under a crate or in a cardboard box not in the crate.

Find out what day your rubbish and recycling is collected and how to get a recycling crate.

    What can go in your recycling

    Sorry, we haven’t got that listed. If it isn't listed, it's likely that it can not be recycled in the kerbside collection.

    You can put the following items in your kerbside recycling collection.

    Only plastics with the recycling symbol and numbers 1, 2 or 5 can be recycled.

    The items need to be clean, not squashed and have lids, pumps and triggers removed.

    • Drink and milk bottles
    • Food containers
    • Cleaning product containers

    Note: Polystyrene, soft plastic, cartons and coffee cups cannot be recycled in kerbside recycling.

    Cardboard and paper should be larger than a postcard, with boxes folded/flattened to be smaller than 50cm x 50cm.  This can be contained in a small box (like a beer box), paper bag, or tied with jute string, and placed beside, between, or on top of the recycling crate.  

    The total volume should be approximately the size of a recycling crate.  The volume ensures the service vehicle can complete the run, while the size allows for efficient collection and placement in the truck.

    • Newspapers and magazines
    • Egg cartons
    • Office paper and envelopes
    • Domestic junk mail
    • Cereal boxes
    • Cardboard boxes, including pizza boxes (but remove pizza scraps and cheese residue)
    • Brown corrugated cardboard
    • Books (remove plastic cover)

    Note: It can't be recycled if it is waxed or foil-backed, has plastic or food on it, or if it is smaller than a postcard.

    Clean and not squashed:

    • aluminium drinking cans
    • food tins
    • pet food tins
    Clear and coloured food and beverage glass bottles and jars – clean and lids removed.

    What can’t go in your recycling  

    Please do not put the following items in your kerbside recycling collection. They can’t be recycled.

    • plastics with numbers 3, 4, 6 and 7
    • plastics with no number
    • plastic items over 4 litres
    • plastic bags
    • polystyrene
    • bubble wrap
    • cling film
    • tin foil

    Consider avoiding these types of plastics and packaging to reduce your waste.

    • Coffee cups and all drink or food cartons, eg juice, milk, yogurt, etc
    • potato chip tubes
    • powdered hot chocolate tubs
    • broken glass
    • ceramics
    • cosmetic glass jars or bottles
    • drinking glasses and cups
    • glass bricks
    • light bulbs and fluorescent tubes
    • medical and lab glass containers
    • mirrors
    • Pyrex
    • TV tubes and computer screens
    • vases and ornamental glass
    • window glass
    • sharp/broken objects
    • medical syringes with needles
    • batteries
    • aerosols such as fly spray, spray deodorant and cream cans
    • paint and oil
    • all types of gas bottles / cylinders

    Learn more about hazardous waste disposal


    Want to deep-dive recycling?

    The Ministry for the Environment gives a full breakdown on what can and can't be recycled, why, and what to do with those items that can't be collected kerbside.

    Learn more

    Last updated 27 August 2025, 03:54 pm

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