Hamilton City Council has contracted Waste Management Ltd to provide recycling and refuse services including customer services.
A service hotline 0800 10 10 10 is available to assist with general inquiries.
Refuse
My rubbish bags were not collected
The refuse contractor will collect your 2 bags from every residential property in the city (not inner city apartments). Rates cover the cost of the collection of up to, but no more two refuse bags. The collection will commence 8am on the morning of the collection day.
Please put your bags out somewhere near the kerb side and visible to refuse truck driver.
Noncomplying bags will be stickered by the refuse collection truck driver.
If you need to dispose of more than two bags of refuse you can take the extra bag(s) to the RTS. RTS normal charges apply.
For further information contact 0800 10 10 10.
I had 4 bags of rubbish out this week as I was away last week and they only took two and stickered the other two
The refuse or recycling collection will always operate each week. The drivers have no knowledge who is on holiday or not. They have to collect from over 45,000 households each week. Perhaps next time you could ask one of your neighbours to put your refuse out for you.
I think my rubbish bags were missed
It is very unlikely that the Contractor deliberately missed the refuse, but they will be sent back if they did miss it.
The Contractor often does one side of a street, and then goes into another street and will later come back down the other side, or sometimes the truck needs to be emptied.
The Contractor always stickers the refuse bag if there is a problem with it.
The boxes of refuse and other waste sitting out on my kerbside were not collected
It is set out in by the Refuse Bylaw (2002) that non-complying containers will not be collected. Council collects from over 45,000 households each week. It is a health and safety requirement that the containers must be compliant.
Hamilton City Council does not provide an inorganic collection service - the inorganic waste should be taken to the Refuse Transfer Station. Normal charges apply.
How much am I paying for my refuse to be collected?
Each property, which is rated as residential pays an apportionment of its rates towards the refuse and recycling services. The total rates for each property are based on the land value; therefore the refuse portion is different for each property.
I am in a shop but I also have a residential part in the shop, shouldn't my refuse be collected?
If you are paying commercial rates only, then you don't get a refuse collection and need to get a private contractor to take your refuse away. If you are paying both residential and commercial then you are entitled to a collection unless you are in inner city CBD and then you don't get a collection and you should engage a private contractor.
I live in the inner city - what do I do about my refuse?
Properties in the inner city, from Bridge Street to London Street and from the Waikato River to Tristram Street, do not get refuse or recycling service and are not paying for the service in their rates. You will have to get a private contractor to collect your refuse and recyclables.
Somebody has just driven along and dumped some rubbish outside my property and I want it removed, as it does not belong to me
If the responsible party can be identified, you can contact Council's Animal Care and Control Unit (Bylaws) on 838 6632 with all the details. This is classed as an illegal dumping and the person who dumped the refuse can be fined.
If the responsible party cannot be identified, contact Council on 838 6699 for assistance.
Someone has dumped their refuse outside my property and it has a sticker on it
You can ring 0800 10 10 10 to get assistance to identify where the refuse comes from. Once the address is identified, the contractor will organise to pick up the bag and return it to the address that it came from and educate the offenders.
If it is from a specific address (i.e. tenants may have moved out) and if the refuse is anything inorganic such as furniture, carpets, bits of cars etc. Email us or contact us on 838 6999 and Council will contact the owner of the property to get it cleaned up or clean up and bill the owner for the work.
Why can't I use my refuse bins?
Hamilton City Council adopted the Refuse Bylaw in January 2002 to change to an all-bag refuse collection. This is to bring the city in line with current best practice around NZ. Around 80% of households were already using disposable bags.
Bags are cleaner, hygienic, relatively odourless, and tidier. The collection service can be done more quickly, there is a lower health and safety risk to collectors, and they reduce collection costs.
You can keep the bins inside the property and store the bags inside the bins until collection day. You can also take the unwanted bins to the Refuse Transfer Station recycling area for disposal.
What about dog strikes? We have a lot of dogs in our street
If dog strikes are a problem in your area, then it should be reported to Council's Animal Care and Control on 838 6632. This can be reduced by wrapping food scraps and not putting the refuse on the kerb before collection day.
It is illegal for dogs to roam the streets unattended and not on a lead. When possible, get information about the dog i.e. Do you know which property the dog has come from. What colour and breed is the dog, and then contact the Animal Care and Control Unit in Council.
How do I know when my refuse will be collected over the holiday period?
If there are any changes in the collection days, it will be made public in the local free papers and you can also ring Council's recycling and refuse service hot line 0800 10 10 10 for information. Normally, if one of the collection days falls on public holiday, collection will be one day later for the rest of that week.
