What can go into your Council rubbish bags?

Do you accept the challenge? All waste, even recycled materials, will have an impact on our environment. Let’s produce as little rubbish as possible. This “What Goes Where” for rubbish and recycling will help you make sure that your household waste products end up where they need to.

Some items cannot be recycled and will need to be disposed of appropriately. Below are some examples of items that can go in your Horowhenua District Council rubbish bag:

  • Food waste: Currently there are no food waste collection services in Horowhenua. Food scraps can be home composted, placed in a worm farm, or disposed of through our Council Kerbside Rubbish Collection service. Our Food Waste Minimisation page contains some helpful resources for those interested in reducing their food waste.
  • Number 3 plastics: Clear food wrap, shower curtains, PVC pipes
  • Number 4 plastics: Coloured sauce bottles, squeezy bottles, bread bags, other plastic wraps
  • Number 6 plastics: Small yoghurt / dairy pottles, disposable cups, food containers, polystyrene packaging
  • Number 7 plastics: Sports bottles, baby bottles, some car parts, medical & dental equipment
  • Clothing and shoes (poor condition, wet, stained, torn)
  • Crockery and cutlery (poor condition, broken)
  • Disposable plates
  • Fabric (poor condition, wet, stained, torn)
  • Facemasks
  • Glass (broken) - wrap in newspaper and place in your Council rubbish bag.
  • Light bulb (broken, halogen, incandescent, LED) - wrap in newspaper and place in your Council rubbish bag.
  • Makeup
  • Meat trays - plastic (due to contamination from meat juice) and polystyrene
  • Mirrored glass - wrap in newspaper and place in your Council rubbish bag.
  • Perfume bottles - wrap in newspaper and place in your Council rubbish bag.
  • Pizza boxes
  • Plastic bags
  • Plastic wrap / Gladwrap
  • Polystyrene
  • Pyrex glass (poor condition, broken) - wrap in newspaper and place in your Council rubbish bag.
  • RAT tests 
  • Rubbish (household)
  • Soft plastics
  • Takeaway cups (coffee, soft drinks)
  • Tissues / paper towels (used)
  • Toys in poor condition (mixed material / wood / hard plastic)
  • Videos, CDs and DVDs (poor condition, broken)
  • Window glass (broken) - wrap in newspaper and place in your Council rubbish bag.

Please do not put the following in your council rubbish bag:

  • Batteries (Batteries are one of the major causes of landfill fires and need to be disposed of appropriately)
  • Fluorescent lights
  • Hazardous Waste / Household chemicals
  • Items over 10kg

You can find more information about what the plastic recycling numbers mean and how to dispose of them, on our 'What do plastic recycling numbers mean?' page.

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