Recycling Schemes in Christchurch

TOCK wanted you to know about some cool recycling schemes happening in Christchurch:

BATTERIES – Batteries recycling schemes in Christchurch:

Loose batteries can be put in a drop-off box at your nearest EcoDrop or at a participating retail store:

Bunnings Tower Junction

Bunnings Shirley

Countdown Ferrymead

EcoDrop Parkhouse Road

EcoDrop Metro Place

EcoDrop Styx Mill

Mitre 10 Mega Papanui

SOFT PLASTIC

GREAT NEWS – The Love NZ Soft Plastic Recycling Scheme has started again in Christchurch:

Soft plastic – including bread bags, frozen food bags, toilet paper packaging, confectionery and biscuit wrap, chip bags, pasta and rice bags, courier envelopes, shopping bags, sanitary hygiene packaging – basically anything made of plastic which can be scrunched into a ball Instead of putting these in the red bin gather them together and drop off at the following drop off points:

Countdown, New World stores and Warehouse, Pack’n’Save stores in Christchurch. With new locations coming soon.

Note this scheme does not take plastic slices/ biscuit containers etc. only plastic wrappers/bags that you can scrunch into a ball and it does not bounce back.

The plastic is then collected and sent to the North Island where Future Post and Second Life Plastics make it into new items such as fence posts, buckets and ducting.

REMEMBER – All bags must be clean and dry.

POLYSTRENE

Did you know that households can now drop off their polystyrene waste to be recycled? EXPOL have partnered with Mitre 10 stores in Christchurch to provide this service.

It is now available at

Mitre 10 MEGA Ferrymead

Mitre 10 MEGA Hornby

Mitre 10 MEGA Papanui

Household quantities only (less than two rubbish bags) – for building site and commercial waste call 0800 86 33 73 to arrange collection or drop-offs.

Clean polystyrene only – no dirt, food waste or residue, no stickers or tape.

CHILD CAR SEATS

Did you know that when your child car seat expires or is damaged it doesn’t have to go to landfill?

The SeatSmart programme has collection sites across the city where you can take your unwanted child car seat to be re-purposed. This will not only mean recyclable materials like metal and plastic don’t get wasted, but helps employ people with disabilities or who are disadvantaged as we use social enterprises to dismantle some of the seats.

Car seat drop off points:

Baby on the Move Christchurch North – 515 Wairakei Road

Baby on the Move Christchurch Central – 87A Gasson Street

CHILDREN’S CLOTHING

TOCK has recently heard about a great scheme operating in Christchurch organised by two local mums and a team of volunteers – finding much needed homes for pre-loved children’s clothing from babies to 16. There are upto 12 drop off points around Christchurch so anyone who needs or wants to donate clothing can contact them on www.facebook.com/clothedinlovechch/ or email [email protected]. A great way of finding a second life for clothing and keeping them away from landfill. Globally a rubbish truck load of clothing ends up in landfill or is incinerated every second of every day.

Other places to donate unused clean clothing are:

SaveMart  Stores  – Papanui , Sydenham and Hornby

Red Cross Shops – Christchurch – Church Corner, Manchester St, Woolston and Rangiora

Saint Vincent De Paul Stores – Richmond, Hornby and Papanui

Salvation Army Stores – Papanui, Aranui, Hornby, Shirley, Ferry Road, Addington, Riccarton

TERRACYCLE

Terracycle offers free recycling programmes funded by brands, manufacturers, and retailers around the world to help you collect and recycle your hard-to-recycle waste such as toothpaste tubes, writing accessories, coffee capsules…. Choose the programmes you’d like to join; start collecting in your home, school, or office; download free shipping labels; and send them your waste to be recycled. You can even earn rewards for your school or favourite non-profit!

UNWANTED MOBILE PHONES

There are 400 locations across the country where you can drop off unwanted mobile phones for recycling with RE:MOBILE. – The following are just some of the main centres in Christchurch:

Spark Store – Hornby, Addington, Riccarton, Russley, Christchurch Central, Northlands Mall, Shirley, Christchurch Airport
Noel Leeming Stores- Hornby, Papanui, Christchurch, Shirley, Northwood
Resene Colour Shop – Hornby, Addington, Christchurch Central, Woolston, Shirley, Northwood
2 Degrees – Riccarton
Ecotech Services Ltd – Sydenham
Vodafone – Shirley, Christchurch Airport
Orana Wildlife Park

BOOKS

Any unneeded books in reasonable condition you can take them to the one of the second-hand book shops in the city – St Christophers Dove Bookshop, Edgeware Paperback Centre, Hornby Second Hand Book Store PLUS look out for requests for donated books for Book fairs organised by various Scout Groups and Schools as a fundraising event.

ELECTRONICS

Check out the following who take a range of electronics for recycling – Kilmarnock Enterprises in Wigram, Molten Media in Wigram,  EcoDrop Bromley, Styx Mill and Parkhouse Road in Wigram  Noel Leeming on Moorhouse Ave, EcoTech Services in Sydenham.

PLANT POTS

Clean your used plant pots labelled with the Number 5 recycling symbol. Take them to your local Mitre 10 store or Bunnings store and place in their special pot recycling bins to be made into new plant pots.

LIGHT BULBS

All used and unbroken household lightbulbs can be recycled through your local Mitre 10 stores. Simply drop off your old bulbs in their lightbulb recycling box. They will send them to Interwaste who will dismantle them. Upto 100% of the lightbulbs are broken down to be used again as raw material for other products.

COMMUNITY RECYCLING COLLECTION HUBS

Bromley Community Centre, 45 Bromley Road – Collection space for bottle tops and ring pulls. Also check look out for their regular clothes swap events.

Sumner Community Hub, 57 Nayland Street – Collection point for used toothpaste tubes, bread tags and wool eco packaging – (found in food bag boxes).

Richmond Riverlution Eco Hub at 46a Vogel street by the Richmond Community Garden currently accepts:

  1. Chip packets and foil (clean and dry)
  2. Wine bottle  tops, metal tabs and metal jar lids.
  3. Plastic bottle tops
  4. Toothpaste tube, toothbrushes, nouth wash bottles (Colgate brands only)
  5. Razors

Halswell Community Hub, 381 Halswell Road is a collection point for the following:

  • Wine bottle tops – Halswell Lions for Kidney Kids
  • Plastic milk bottle tops (No 2) for Over the Top Recycling
  • Sports gear for the CCC project – Give Gear Get Great
  • Blankets for the New Brighton Blanket Bank
  • Bra’s/Swimwear for Project Uplift

Based at the Hub they also have

The Sharing Shack  –  for sharing excess garden produce or surplus food items
Book Shack – community sharing book library

St. Albans Community Hub, 1049 Colombo Street is a collection point for the following:

  • Wine and BeerTops
  • Can Tabs
  • Mixed Jar Lids
  • Colgate Toothpaste products