Waste Minimisation

Events Assistance

ReServe wash station

Construction waste

Textiles

Food waste minimisation

compost

Kerbside food-scrap collection

Compost workshops

Schools

Bike Hub

We are a community organisation dedicated to looking after our beautiful district of Kaipara

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Here you’ll find waste-busting resources, info and downloadable files for printing, sharing and learning

resources + guides

A-Z waste + recycling guide

Recycling in Kaipara

Videos

FAQ

PRINTABLE downloads

Building waste guide

Kaipara recycling guide

Our compost bin guide

DIY Zero-waste signage

Compost workshop guides

A-Z of waste & recycling in Kaipara

An A-Z waste & recycling guide so you can find solutions in Kaipara and surrounds.

If you think something should be added or updated on this list, please contact us!

IMPORTANT! Please remember in the hierarchy of waste, REFUSE & REUSE are a MUCH better solution and higher priority than RECYCLING.  If however recycling is the only option, certainly do so!

Before you recycle; reduce, refuse and rethink

Recycling is valuable, but it’s the last step in the waste hierarchy. Before we reach for the yellow bag, the most powerful thing we can do is question whether we needed the item in the first place. Refusing single-use packaging, choosing products with less wrapping, buying secondhand, repairing instead of replacing, and borrowing or sharing things we use rarely. All of these have a bigger environmental impact than recycling ever can. The best waste is the waste that was never created.

Aerosol Cans

  • Kaipara Refuse
    → Do not place in yellow kerbside recycling bag 
    → Take to Ruawai & Dargaville transfer stations Transfer Station details >>

Aluminum Cans

  • see Cans

Batteries – Household

Kaipara West

Kaipara East

Batteries – Vehicle

  • Repco Whangārei
    → Drop off in store, 8 Okara Drive, Whangārei
    Store details >>

Bottles (glass)

  • see Glass

Bottle caps

  • Four Square Mangawhai Heads
    → Drop off in store, Wood St, Mangawhai heads
    Scheme Details >>
  • Lions NZ
    → Find your local Lions club, and read about their partnership with Kidney-Kids, collecting bottle caps for funds:
    Scheme details >>


Cans – steel & aluminium

Car Seats

  • Baby on the Move, Albany
    → Take to Baby on the Move Store in Albany Scheme details >>

Cardboard – flattened / paper

Cellphones

  • See mobile phones 

Clean tinfoil/ foil plates/ dishes

  • See foil

Clothing (clean, useable)

Kaipara has a number of second hand shops/opportunity shops who will take clothing that is in good condition.  Please check locally for options.
We recommend asking yourself: “Would you give that piece of clothing to your best friend?”  If not – perhaps the opshop can’t sell it either!

Coffee Capsules

  • See Nescafe Coffee Capsules

Compostable

  • See Food Scraps
  • See Garden Waste / Green Waste

Computers

  • See E-waste

Drawers (chest of)

  • Mangawhai’s Helping Hands
    → You can have broken sets of wooden drawers upcycled and passed on to someone else who needs them. Visit the Helping Hands facebook page and post on the page to learn more: Mangawhai’s Helping Hands >>

E-waste, TV’s, computers, stereos, printers etc

Kaipara West

Kaipara East

Electrical items & Appliances

Farm Chemicals & Containers

  • Agrecovery
    → Check the Agrecovery website for details on what can be recycled agrecovery.co.nz >>

Farm Plastics, bale wraps, bags, containers

  • Agrecovery
    → Bale wrap, silage pit covers, small low density polyethylene (LDPE) feed bags, shrink wrap and pallet covers. Check the Agrecovery website for more details https://agrecovery.co.nz/
  • Plasback
    → Check the Plasback website for details on what can be recycled plasback.co.nz >>

Fluorescent light bulbs

  • Interwaste recycling fluorescent light bulbs have a number of collection partners, including Mitre 10. Find out more.>>

Foil (aluminium foil), aluminium trays/dishes

  • Kaipara Refuse
    → Aluminium foil or foil trays are no longer on the list for kerbside recycling collections in Kaipara district. Instead, you can continue to bring these in to one of our depots with your general recycling.
    Take to Ruawai & Dargaville transfer stations Transfer Station details >>

Food Scraps

Kaipara East

  • Sustainable Kaipara Community Compost Collection Service (Mangawhai only)
    → Mangawhai : turning food waste into a valuable resource for your garden!  Enquire about our collection service here: Mangawhai Community Compost Collection >>

Garden Waste / Green Waste

GLAD cling-wrap, bags and containers

  • Terracycle GLAD products programme – Waipū Primary School

Glass (jars, bottles)

Glasses (reading glasses & sunglasses)

  • see Reading glasses

Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Ice Packs from food boxes

  • Mangawhai Meats
    → take into store during opening hours, they will reuse these Mangawhai Meats >>

Jars (glass)

  • see Glass

Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Mobile Phones

Kaipara West

  • Dargaville Primary School
    → Take in to school collection box for recycling, the school receives rewards for collecting them
  • Resene Colourshop & PaintWise, Dargaville
    → Part of the Re:Mobile initiative, raising funds for Sustainable Coastlines >>

Kaipara East

  • Mangawhai Beach School
    → Take in to school collection box for recycling, the school receives rewards for collecting them

NESCAFE Dolce Gusto Capsules

Kaipara East

  • Mangawhai Physiotherapy
    → Mangawhai Physio is a Collection point for Terracycle GLAD products programme until September 2025.  Insley Street, Mangawhai Mangawhai Physiotherapy >>
  • Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Paint, Paint tins/buckets

Plastics #1, Clear only

Plastics #2, Milk bottles only*

Plastic Tanks

  • Large plastic tank, now a recycling service being offered by Vision Plastics for tanks that have reached the end of their life, saving them from being buried, burned or dumped in landfill. This business can also take rotationally moulded products such as mussel floats, kayaks and troughs to name a few.

Polystyrene

  • ITM Mangawhai
    → Take all clean and dry polystyrene packaging etc to the collection bag outside ITM Mangawhai >>

Printers (not working)

  • See E-waste

Printer Cartridges

Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Reading Glasses & Sunglasses

  • Eyes on Heads: Mangawhai Optometrists
    → Collection point for used reading and sun glasses in Mangawhai: Eyes on Heads >>

  • Specsavers
    → Specsavers Community Program collects reading glasses to be recycled and sent overseas to support the Fred Hollows Foundation : Specsavers Community Program >>

Scrap Metal

Soft Plastics

Bread bags, frozen food bags, toilet paper packaging, confectionary and biscuit wrap, chip bags, pasta and rice bags, courier envelopes, sanitary hygiene packaging, squeeze pouches, and basically anything made of soft plastic that can be scrunched into a ball – you can drop off EMPTY, CLEAN, DRY soft plastic to a Love NZ Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme bin near you.
Store locator here >>

  • Woolworths Dargaville 
  • New world Mangawhai 

Stereos

  • See E-waste

Sunglasses

  • See Reading glasses & sunglasses

Televisions (not working)

  • See E-waste

Timber (treated)

Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

Washing Machines (not working)

  • Mangawhai’s Helping Hands
    → You can have a washing machine upcycled and passed on to someone else who needs it. Visit the Helping Hands facebook page and post on the page to learn more: Mangawhai’s Helping Hands >>

Whiteware

Kaipara West

    Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

    Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!

    Sorry there are currently no entries.  If you think something should be here, please don’t hesitate in contacting us!