Reduce rubbish at home

Waste is something we do not have a use for anymore, it is a resource that we throw away. North Shore City Council is aiming to have zero waste, which means we all need to reduce, reuse and recycle our resources and not waste anything.

By reducing your rubbish you can:

• reduce the amount you pay for rubbish disposal each week
• reduce demands on natural resources
• reduce the amount of material disposed of in landfills
• reduces the amount of rubbish incinerated, so we have cleaner air
• reduce future disposal costs to the city, and ratepayers, for landfills
• save money on weekly grocery bills (some products with less packaging cost less)
• use products you’ve recycled yourself instead of buying them, like compost and paper.

Easy steps to reduce your rubbish

The following steps can dramatically reduce what ends up in your rubbish bag each week:

• buy products that use less packaging (economy size, refills or concentrates)
• buy products packaged in recyclable material eg: paper, cardboard, glass, aluminium, tin or or plastic containers - not plastic film
• Avoid or reduce the use of disposables (razors, nappies, pens, plates and cups).
  
• when buying only one or two items, tell retailers "No bag please" and bring your own cloth bags to the supermarket for groceries.
• buy products with recycled content in them, this means less on natural resources are used and there is less waste produced in the long run
• reuse boxes and jars for storage, and keep wrapping paper and ribbons for future use
• think before you throw something away - donate reusable toys, books and clothing to charities or your local ‘Op Shop’
• List your unwanted items on a web based trader for others to take off your hands. See our list of free services below.
• take old appliances, furniture and bikes to a second hand shop, rather than the transfer station
• collect and bundle clean flat paper and cardboard for the weekly recycling collection
• use your green recycling bin for glass bottles and jars; aluminium and tin cans; plastic containers with or on the base
• if you have a garden you can compost your grass clippings and tree prunings, as well as fruit and vegetable scraps
• if you don’t have room to compost use a worm bin indoors to dispose of kitchen scraps.

How can you be involved:

Save natural resources

Natural resources are ingredients, like trees (renewable) and minerals (non-renewable) that make up all the products that we use, like paper and aluminium cans. If we reduce the amount of things we buy and reuse them as much as possible before throwing them away we use less renewable and non-renewable resources, which saves us money and is good for the environment. 

If we recycle what we can’t use anymore, we save resources because the recyclable materials replace some of the natural resources including water and energy, which we use to make new products.

Avoid landfills

A landfill is a piece of land where rubbish (solid waste) is compacted (squashed) and buried. It should be designed and managed so that no liquid or gas can harm our environment (landfills used to be called dumps or tips). All of the rubbish produced in North Shore City is disposed of in a landfill. Some rubbish is taken to a transfer station (local drop-off point) first and then transported to one of the few landfills in the Auckland area.

There are many problems with landfills including:

• finding the right piece of land for the landfill
• preventing poisonous liquid (leachate) from entering our streams
• making sure the landfill does not produce harmful methane gas
• that the landfill does not attract rats, and is looked after for many years so that it can eventually be used as a golf course or a park.

Become a smart shopper:

• avoid junk mail
• choose reusable shopping bags
• buy products with less packaging (economy size and concentrates)
• buy products with recyclable packaging
• buy long life products, not disposables
• buy products made with recycled content
• reuse products or packaging (refills, wrappings and secondhand purchases)
• donate or resell used items (clothing, toys, books, appliances, furniture, sports equip)
• buy less toxic products or use natural alternatives (cleaners and pesticides)
• shop at environmentally aware businesses.

Want to get ride of something that might be useful to someone else? From industrial quantities of buckets and paper to electrical goods, woolly jumpers and even a gerbil hutch, these websites will put you in touch with someone who will take it off your hands.

	Auckland Freecycle - An online forum where household objects and discards can be gifted or accepted.
	DonateNZ - Links donations from businesses and individuals to schools, childcare centres and charities. Large variety of items accepted including paper and other art supplies, electronic goods, and even a frog has found a new home in a school.
	RENEW Waste Exchange - Deals primarily with industrial and commercial waste resources. Individuals are free to join and accept offered resources.