Declutter & Recycle! If you know of an organisation in Auckland that we should list here please do let me know – The Tidy Lady’s Email
Table of Contents:
Makeup, Skin & Hair Care Containers
Can It Be Repaired?
Take it to a Repair Cafe
Wrightway Studios will repair precious items like dolls, ceramics, art and antiques. Based in Glen Innes.
Hard-To-Recycle Things
Caps & lids (which can’t be put in Council recycling) can be taken to quite a few places.
Auckland Council has an extensive list of how to recycle things that you can’t put in your bin here – How To Get Rid Of Unwanted Items
The Ministry for the Environment also has an extensive list of places you can take hard-to-recycle-things – https://environment.govt.nz/what-you-can-do/campaigns/recycle/recycle-item/
Terracycle – Search for Hard-to-recycle-things drop off points here – https://www.terracycle.com/
Foil Chip Packets Drop off your clean and dry foil chip packets to the wonderful volunteer organisation The Chip Packet Project. They turn them into survival blankets for rough sleepers and the homeless all across NZ.
Free tyre recycling now offered at Waitākere transfer station
Shoes – Auckland council provides a list of places to take shoes for recycling.
Makeup, Skin & Hair Care Containers
Empty make up containers can be recycled for free at Mecca Stores and Sephora Stores. They accept mascara tubes and wands; cosmetic compacts, palettes tubes and lipsticks; eye, lip and brow liners, makeup pots, hair and skin care containers and lids.
Batteries
Bunnings – A national battery recycling program, you can recycle your used household and power tool batteries in-store, giving them a new lease on life.
For a list of other battery recycling locations around Auckland –
Consumer Battery Recycling Auckland locations but you can select other places in NZ using the drop down box.
For more choices around Auckland, the Council has a How to get rid of unwanted items page. This is the battery page with links via the different kinds of batteries to recycling locations.
Coins & Notes
Coins & Notes. The New Zealand Lions collect old coins and banknotes, foreign currency and hoarded loose change for the benefit of young New Zealanders. Lions have teamed up with Resene, which is offering its nationwide chain of Resene Colour Shops as collection centres.
Keys
Keys are made of metal – Try this Google search for metal recyclers in Auckland Some have drop off bins, very convenient!
Lightbulbs
Mitre 10 Have light bulb collection points for domestic lightbulbs – Fluorescent, incandescent or LED.
For more choices around Auckland, the Council has a How to get rid of unwanted items page. This is the Incandescent Light Bulb Page with links to recycling locations. This is the Fluorescent energy efficient bulbs (contains mercury) page with links to recycling locations.
Beauty Products:
SecondSkinNZ offer a service to help give your unloved products a chance to be loved by someone else.
Child Car Seats:
SeatSmart Recycle, don’t let your expired or unwanted child car seat end up in landfill! SeatSmart has collection points nationwide.
Polystyrene:
Expol have free collection drop off points for clean domestic polystyrene (not the little peanut kind though) throughout NZ.
Clothing & Textiles:
SPCA– Towels, sheets, duvet covers and blankets (especially polar fleece blankets) – but please NO duvet inners, pillows or pillow cases, mattresses, bean bags or electric blankets.
AS Colour have partnered with ImpacTexto provide a circular waste solution for unwanted or unwearable clothes.
Textile Products in Onehunga recycle a variety of fabrics for free. Read their webpage carefully to learn how.
Ripple Movement – take your unwanted or outgrown kid’s clothing regardless of condition. From there, quality items are passed on for community good and items that are ready to retire are sent to repair, repurposing and recycling partners. Once your items enter their system, everything is reused or recycled.
SaveMart accepts cotton clothing and fabrics for rag recycling. Clearly write on the bag “Cotton Rags”.
H & M Stores You can take unwanted clothing to your local H&M store and drop it in their clothing recycling box. All textiles are welcome – any brand, any condition – even odd socks, worn-out T-shirts and old sheets. The textiles will be sent to the nearest recycling plant, where they are sorted by hand.
Icebreaker Drop off your preloved clothing to an icebreaker Touch Lab store. They accept all clean and washed used clothing except socks and underwear. It can be any brand or condition.
Shoes – Auckland council provides a list of places to take shoes for recycling.
Plastic plant pots, labels and garden centre plastic bags.
Kings Plant Barn in partnership with FuturePost have drop-off containers for plastic plant labels, Swap-A-Pot recycling and now soft plastic recycling bins for garden centre bags from compost, potting mix etc.
Whiteware:
Auckland Council How To Get Rid Of….
GoRecycle There is no charge for Recycling of Whiteware, Appliances or E-waste. Free drop off to site.
UpCycle An extensive list of what they can accept. Free drop off to site.
Appliance Recycling Whiteware, eWaste and small appliances. Free drop off to site.
Tamaki Sports Academy Free Metal Pick-up Fundraising for the school, they will pick up any old metal – computers, white-ware, roofing iron, metal piping, venetian blinds, batteriesNoel Leeming, car panels, cars, metal shelving, filing cabinets, machinery, lawnmowers, engines, and so on.
E-Waste:
Noel Leeming Noel Leeming, in partnership with Tech Collect NZ, is offering free e-waste collection at 27 of their stores nationwide. Simply take it to the customer service desk and drop it off. Be sure to check the list of accepted items and delete any of your personal data prior to drop off.
TechCollect To find your nearest TechCollect NZ free drop-off site, click this link for convenient and free eWaste drop off. They take all computery stuff and cables!
Ecomatters – Supports the community with knowledge and tools to restore nature, reduce waste, ride and fix bikes, and live more sustainably. They even help recycle Weird Stuff!
Ewaste – Ewaste.org.nz is a not for profit organisation providing drop-off and electronic waste recycling events around Auckland
Computer Recycling – Eco-friendly e-Waste disposal.
Mobile Phones – Re:Mobile has over 400 locations across the country where you can drop off unwanted mobile phones.
Printer Consumables:
Warehouse Stationery – Any brand ink cartridges, toner cartridges, drum cartridges and labelling cassettes can be recycled, from households through to large businesses.
Printer toner and ink cartridges An Auckland Council list of places that will accept these products.
Medications:
Your local pharmacy might have a donation program to MAA below. Check with your pharmacist first.
Medical Aid Abroad can take donations of unused medications of most kinds, as long as they are not expired or partly used. Click the link to see how you can donate your medications.
Mobile Phones:
Re:Mobile have many free drop off locations across NZ.
Useful Links:
Freecycle– Worldwide sharing movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills.
CAB (non-Council Recycling) – Links and related information.
Auckland Council Inorganic Collections – How to and the booking page.