Recycle With Us
It’s great to recycle household waste in the kerbside bins provided by the council. But there are still many items that go to landfill every year that could be recycled elsewhere. We receive and process many of these things at two locations so start putting these items aside to bring in regularly. Join us in Auckland’s grand vision to be zero waste by 2040! Here’s what you can recycle with us, how and where.
When and where to drop off
Wednesdays to Sundays, 10am to 2pm (closed on public holidays)
EcoMatters Store: 1 Olympic Place, New Lynn, Auckland.
What we accept so landfill doesn’t have to:
Free to drop off at either our store or depot
Caps and lids
Metal and plastic lids must be separated, clean and dry before drop off.
We’re a drop off point for the Caps and Lids Recycling Scheme. Bring us your clean and dry flip-top/hinged caps, screw caps, every type of container lid, crown caps, jar lids, ring pull caps, wire from sparkling drinks, metal screw top caps, aluminium lids, wine lids and food tin lids.
Please make sure your metal and plastic lids are separated so they can be put into the appropriate boxes for recycling. We don’t accept coffee cup lids, coffee pods, glass, triggers, pumps, bread tags or any dirty lids.
Metal lids are sent to New Zealand-based metal recyclers, while plastic lids are processed and sent to Australia to be turned into things like wheelie bins, flower pots and more.
More about what metal lids are accepted.
More about what plastic lids are accepted.
CURTAINS
We collect clean second-hand curtains, which are given to families in need via Habitat for Humanity. We’re thrilled to work with this fabulous organisation and they’re incredibly grateful for all your contributions, especially lined curtains, which really help to keep people warmer and healthier. Sorry, no blinds, rails or mouldy curtains, thank you.
DISPOSABLE RAZORS AND STAINLESS STEEL BLADES
A wide range of shaving equipment can be dropped off with us as part of Terracycle’s Gillette Razor Recycling Programme. This includes: all brands of disposable blades and razors (systems, disposable units, and replaceable-blade cartridge units), rigid plastic packaging, and flexible plastic bag packaging. We also accept stainless razor blades used in safety razors. New safety razors and refill blades can be purchased at our EcoMatters Store.
ECOSTORE BOTTLES
EcoMatters is an official collection point for the ecostore Plastic Return Programme. We accept all empty ecostore containers for Aotearoa-based recycling, including the 5L and 20L containers.
INFLATABLE POOL TOYS
Has your inflatable pool toy had its day in the sun? If it is glitter-free, clean and mould-free, we encourage you to drop it off to us. These toys are then collected by I Used To Be, a fabulous and innovative initiative that repurposes inflatable pool toys into bright and fun water resistant bags and accessories.
COLGATE TOOTHPASTE TUBES AND TOOTHBRUSHES
Only Colgate-branded toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, toothpaste caps, floss containers and their plastic outer packaging materials can be brought to us now. We encourage you to collect them up and bring them in when you have a small box full. We send them to Terracycle’s Colgate Oral Care Recycling Programme. When you recycle these items with us, we also earn Terracycle points which are converted to donations for our charity.
solid toothpaste JARS AND BOTTLES
We’re an official jar return location for Solid toothpaste. Bring your clean, empty and delabelled Solid toothpaste jars and bottles in to us. They’ll be sent back to Solid to be sterilised and re-used. Ask us for a jar return card – once you’ve returned 12 jars in total, you’ll get a free toothpaste to say thank you.
SILICONE
We can take your food grade silicone products for the Silicone Send Back project. This is ideal for items that are damaged or no longer usable. To find out more about the recycling program and what items are accepted check out the FAQ’s here.
Items with a processing charge
LIGHT BULBS
We can take your household Fluorescent or LED light bulbs (no long fluro tubes or broken bulbs) to be recycled with Interwaste. Up to 100% of the light bulb is able to be broken down and recycled into other products. There is a charge of $2 per bulb for this service, as recycling lightbulbs has specialised recycling processes.
E-WASTE
We no longer accept e-waste but here are some alternative options.
Nearby companies
EchoTech
5 Southpark Place, Penrose, Auckland 1061
Mon-Fri: 8.30am – 5.00pm
Sat: 9.00am – 3.00pm, closed Sundays.
Accepts a range of e-waste (check the website for the full list and prices) at their Penrose location or find an upcoming e-day near you here.
Go Recycle
32 Portage Road, New Lynn
Mon-Fri: 8.00am – 5.00pm
Sat: 8.00am – 1.00pm, closed Sundays.
Accepts a range of e-waste (check the website for the full list) at their New Lynn location.
Phoenix Recycling
337 Lincoln Road, Henderson
Mon-Fri: 8.00am – 5.00pm
Sat: 8.00am – 1.00pm, closed Sundays.
Accepts a range of e-waste (check the website for the full list) and has other locations around Auckland.
Auckland Council Community Recycling Centres
Check here for a full list of all community recycling centres. Please confirm with each site directly for what they accept.
Auckland Council Inorganic Collection
Every property in Auckland that pays a Waste Management Targeted Rate can book one inorganic collection each year at no extra cost. Check what’s accepted in this service here, but note that while electronic items are ok, batteries are not accepted.
Auckland Council Search Tool
Use Auckland Council’s search tool, How to get rid of unwanted items, for other options and suggestions for places to take unwanted items.
Other drop-off points
Tech Collect
A free collection and recycling service for ICT equipment.
Check drop-off locations here.
Bunnings NZ
A national battery recycling scheme.
Find where and how to recycle batteries here.
Mitre 10
Return batteries purchased from Mitre 10 for recycling.
Find more information and participating stores here.
RE:MOBILE remobile.org.nz
Accepts mobile devices.
Find a drop-off point near you.
We’ve made every effort to check this information but we recommend confirming directly with the organisation first in case details have changed. This is not a complete list and there may be other options available in your area.
Kerbside Recycling Advice
Test your recycling knowledge with the online Recycle Right quiz. Are you a recycling legend?
Visit Waste Nothing to learn more about Auckland Council’s journey towards its aspirational goal of zero waste by 2040.