Nothing keeps a conscientious consumer awake at night like a used battery or a blown lightbulb, and the fear that someone less concerned in the household might toss such a thing in the landfill if they don’t deal with it first.
So, to keep the community sleeping soundly we also provide a drop-off service for items that can be recycled but are not accepted in the kerbside recycling bins.
Simply bring your items to our EcoHub, 1 Olympic Place, New Lynn during our open hours.
Please note: there is a fee for certain items to cover our costs, see below.
Clean Polystyrene
The Polystyrene is collected by Waste Management who send it overseas to China where it is made into shoe heels, picture frames and other stuff.
The polystyrene should be clean (this means no food trays unfortunately – unless they are brand-new which is unlikely, but possible if you make a late-night impulse internet purchases of food trays)
Costs: Estimated by how much it fills up a bag. A full bag costs $15.00
Soft plastic bags
As of 1st November we are no longer accepting soft plastics. Great news there is now a Soft Plastic Recycling scheme in place. Find a collection bin at participating supermarkets
Batteries
We also send our batteries to Abilities. We separate them into Alkaline and Non-alkaline (incl. Lithium or rechargeable). It would be great if you can do this before dropping them off
Cost for Alkaline batteries (AAA, AA, 9 V) – $3.00 per kg
Cost for rechargable batteries (lithium, Nicad, Nimh, button etc)- $6.50 per kg
Toothpaste tubes and toothbrushes
At EcoMatters you can even drop off your old toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes!
Once we have a box full we then send them to Terracycle New Zealand. TerraCycle was founded in the States to recycle or up-cycle traditionally non- recyclable waste. If you go to their website you will find that the products they make from this waste (not currently available in NZ unfortunately).
FREE
Curtains
We collect donations of second-hand curtains, that are distributed to families in need via Vision West.
Full-length, lined curtains really help to keep homes warm, they make it easier to heat a home during winter, and that can result in less sickness!
We are delighted to provide the same gifting service in South Auckland, through our partnership with Greenstar Energy Solutions at 26 Grayson Ave, Papatoetoe.
No mouldy curtains, blinds or rails please.
Lightbulbs
Interwaste collect the CFL light bulbs which contain harmful mercury. The bulbs are crushed into tiny pieces, then the different components separated. We can also accept LED and Incandescent bulbs.
Cost: $1 per light bulb. $3 per tube.
And don’t forget we have a fantastic E-waste drop off service too!
