Happy New Year Whaingaroa. At a time when you’re probably trying to stem the cash haemorrhage from Xmas, you may like to know a few ways to organise your recycling and rubbish to save you money.
Can this item be recycled or re-used at no cost? In many cases, the answer is yes. Does this item need to go to landfill at a cost of $45 per cu/m to me? In many cases the answer is no.
If you carefully sort your load, separating recyclable and re-useable goods from rubbish (ideally recycling on top and rubbish on the bottom) BEFORE you come up to the Recycling Centre you’ll pay less. Sorting takes time and only marginal sorting can take place in the middle of a busy yard with customers waiting.
For example, wood that’s free of nails, windows and door fittings in good condition are free to drop off. Because of the time involved in de-nailing and repairing damaged products, we charge $10 per cu/m to receive low-grade stock. Separating your wood into waste and reusable will minimise your drop off costs, saving you money. All metals and whiteware are free to drop-off.
Xtreme Waste operations manager, Gavin Melgren admits January is a challenging month, “We are moving things through fast because of the volumes. The boys try to grab what they can from going to landfill, but they can’t grab everything. Organised customers make life easier, and pay less.”
There are judgement calls to be made from the shop as to whether something has potential for reuse or whether it needs to be landfilled. Sort your loads Whaingaroa and make your drop-offs cheaper whilst moving our community towards zero waste.
Xtreme Waste Team
