Nelson City Council

Kerbside Recycling & Nelmac Refuse Bag pickup.

Please have your recycling items and Nelmac’s refuse bags at the kerbside by 8.00am.

General refuse collection service

Two types of rubbish service are available, both are user pay systems:

• blue plastic bags that are available for purchase at most supermarkets and from Council
• bins that can be rented or purchased from Nelmac; they require prepaid liners

Both bags and bins are picked up kerbside by Nelmac on their weekly schedule at no further cost.

Nelmac Nelson

8 Vickerman Street, Nelson, New Zealand
PO Box 5077, Port Nelson, Nelson
Tel: 03 546 0910 Fax: 03 546 2064
Web: www.nelmac.co.nz

Nelmac Ltd blue bag rubbish collection

If your rubbish collection day falls on a statutory holiday (except for Good Friday and Christmas Day*), your rubbish will still be collected on that day. All Nelmac Ltd blue household refuse bags and bags with coupons plus any other refuse bags, incur a normal refuse charge if they are dropped off at the Pascoe Street Transfer Station.

Nelmac Ltd provides rubbish collection and disposal services to Nelson residents, funding this activity through the sale of rubbish bags. When the bags are dropped off directly at the Transfer Station, they bypass normal collection processes and the Council incurs a cost when disposing of them, hence the charges. NELMAC provides a drop off point for blue bags at 8 Vickerman Street.

* If your rubbish collection falls on Good Friday or Christmas Day collection is generally made on the following day instead, but please ensure your rubbish/recycling is by the kerb by 8am. For more information please contact the Customer Service Centre on 03 546 0200.

Collection days

Generally the pickup days are:

Monday

the Wood area, out to Atawhai, the Glen, Cable Bay, Hira, Teal and Lud valleys

Tuesday

Port Hills, Tahunanui, Annesbrook

Wednesday

Washington, Toi Toi, Nelson South, Bishopdale, Wakatu

Thursday

the central business district, Nelson East, the Brook, the Maitai

Friday

Maitlands, Stoke, Nayland, Ngawhatu, Marsden, Saxton, to the north side of Champion Rd and lower Hill St (north Champion Rd)

Private contractors 

A list of private contractors that provide bag collection is below. Contact them directly for the services they offer:

Can Plan

23 Forests Road
Stoke
Nelson 7011
Phone: 547 0642
www.canplan.co.nz

EnviroWaste Services Limited

42 Quarantine Road
Tahunanui
Nelson 7011
Phone: 547 5669
0800 240 120
Urgent after hours: 027 449 1247
www.envirowaste.co.nz

Nelmac Limited

8 Vickerman Street
Nelson 7010
Phone: 546 0910
www.nelmac.co.nz

Waste Management

74B Vanguard Street
Nelson 7010
Phone: 548 1166
www.wastemanagement.co.nz

For missed bags/collections, please refer directly to the service provider. 

Transfer station

The Council runs a transfer station in Vivian Place (off Pascoe Street) in Tahunanui for car, trailer, and small truck loads of waste. There are restrictions on hazardous waste that will be accepted. Phone +64 3 548 5760

[668724]

Kerbside recycling

Kerbside recycling is easy, and will save you money. Wash, squash and put out on the same day as the blue Nelmac bags are collected. View our step-by-step guide on how to prepare your rubbish for recycling. Glass is collected one week, and the rest of your recycling is collected the next week. View the recycling pickup calendar on the website and find out more with our guide to good recycling.

Additional bins are available for purchase from Nelmac.

Nelmac picks up plastic recyclables labeled 1 to 7.

Landfill

The Council operates a landfill in York Valley, Bishopdale, but only for commercial operators and compacted loads from the Transfer Station. Strict controls are exercised on the dumping of hazardous waste and liquid waste. For enquiries on this please contact the Council. Phone +64 3 546 0262.

[668724]

Waste Management Plan

The Council adopted the Joint Waste Management and Minimisation Plan in April 2012. The vision of this plan is: "valuing resources and minimising waste".

Cutting down the amount of waste we generate and discard, so that the community uses all its resources efficiently and at a sustainable rate, is the long term challenge for Nelson.  

Safe CFL bulb disposal

Energy-saving light bulbs are more energy-efficient than incandescent lamps because they contain a small amount of mercury. Mercury is toxic to human health and harmful to the environment (the small amount of mercury in one bulb is not a hazard to users).

Nelson City Council has started a partnership with retailers to provide more accessible recycling points for the bulbs. For safe disposal, drop off your old bulbs in the special collection bins at Bunnings Warehouse, the Council office in Trafalgar Street or the Pascoe Street Transfer Station. Address and hours of Pascoe Street Transfer Station.

Don’t

• Do not put them out with your kerbside recycling.
• Commercial hazardous waste, including bulbs, batteries and other hazardous materials, is not accepted at the Transfer Station. The business is responsible for its safe disposal.

What happens to the mercury

Our recycling contractor sends the material to the collection facility in Christchurch, where the mercury is separated for recycling.

What if I accidentally break a fluoresent lamp in my house?

Don’t use a vacuum cleaner or brush to clean up the breakage (this will spread debris and could contaminate the equipment), and keep people and pets away until the cleanup is complete.

Start by opening windows and ventilate the area for 15 minutes.  Use rubber gloves to carefully pick up the larger pieces and place in closed container or bag.  Collect the smaller pieces and dust with sticky tape. Finish by wiping the area with a wet wipe or damp cloth, placing this cloth and the sticky tape in the closed container with the other residue.  Place the closed container in an outside rubbish bin or drop in to transfer station.Wash your hands when you have finished.

If a carpet or rug is under the area where the lightbulb is being changed, homeowners may consider putting a drop cloth on the floor so that any accidental breakage can be easily cleared up.

What about heavy-metal batteries?

Just as for energy-saving bulbs, batteries that contain heavy metals (lead, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, lithium and mercury) should be brought to the transfer station. Ordinary alkaline (carbon zinc) batteries can go out with your rubbish. 

Other hazardous waste

Other hazardous waste from your home must also be brought to the Transfer Station instead of going out with your rubbish, including:

• Plant and pest sprays
• Waste oil
• LPG bottles
• Household chemicals

Find out more

You can get more information about safe disposal of hazardous waste on the Ministry for the Environment website.

Go to the Ministry for the Environment's website.