Hazardous waste, asbestos and illegal dumping

Hazardous waste in an example of what can't go in your kerbside bins.

Hazardous waste is waste that has substantial or potential threats to public health or the environment. Hazardous waste is a type of dangerous goods. They usually have one or more of the following hazardous traits: ignitability, reactivity, corrosivity, toxicity. Therefore, they can't go in your bin and need to be disposed of separately to the kerbside service.

Hazardous waste is only accepted at Alexandra and Cromwell transfer stations. Please speak to transfer station staff on site to receive the hazardous waste.

Containers must be in a good condition, labelled and in quantities less than 100 kg/litres.

When bringing in hazardous waste to the transfer station:

• Please label the contents clearly if you know what the contents are, and the original label is unclear
• Make sure that lids fit the containers tightly
• Transport the containers upright and secured in the boot to that they can't tip over and leak (for example, place the containers in a cardboard box or plastic tray)
• Place any unsound containers in a heavy-duty plastic bag or bucket when they are to be transported to the transfer station, to prevent leaks in the car.

If you have any queries about items not accepted at the transfer stations, please call CODC Waste Team on 03 440 0056.

Charges for disposing of hazardous waste at our transfers stations are as follows:

Hazardous Waste Acceptance Table

Hazardous Waste NOT accepted

Removal and disposal of asbestos

NOTE: No asbestos is accepted at any of our transfer stations.

Working with asbestos can jeopardise your health and the health of your family. You must use a professional licence to remove and dispose of any asbestos-containing material.

Further information:

• View WorkSafe New Zealand's Asbestos video on YouTube
• Worksafe Information on Asbestos
• NZ Guidelines for Management and Removal of Asbestos

What is illegal dumping?

Illegal rubbish dumping is any rubbish left on public property.

It can be:

• large items (e.g. a fridge or couch)
• items amounting to more than two black rubbish bags
• dead animals, greenwaste
• biohazards e.g. chemical or waste
• large amounts of home renovation debris

What is Litter?

The Act defines litter as 'any refuse, rubbish, animal remains, glass, metal, garbage, debris, dirt, filth, rubble, ballast, stones, earth or waste matter, or any other thing of a like nature.

It can be:

• Small items (e.g. bottles, cigarette butts, takeaway containers)
• Bags of rubbish (less than 2 black rubbish bags)
• Small amounts of building materials (e.g. items that have fallen off the back of a vehicle)

You should know: We do not remove dumped rubbish on private property. The owner of the property is responsible for the disposal of rubbish dumped on their property.

What you can do about illegally dumped rubbish

If you see dumped rubbish on public property, such as Council reserves use our illegal dumping form. Include a detailed description if you saw it happening.

If the illegally dumped rubbish is hazardous and needs urgent attention, call us on 03 440 0056 (24 hours, seven days).

What information you need to provide

Helpful information includes:

• registration number of the offender's vehicle
• description of the offender's vehicle
• location, date and time
• description of the rubbish
• whether the rubbish is obstructing the road, causing danger to people, or contains hazardous material such as chemicals, oil or LPG
• description of the offender.

What we do about illegally dumped rubbish

Council now has in place tools to penalise offenders who litter in our district and which will see a safer and healthier environment for our community.

We will investigate claims of illegally dumped rubbish and try to identify the offender.

Council's Litter offences and infringement system

Following the Litter Act 1979, Central Otago District Council now implements litter offences and littering fines up to $400.

Infringement Offences and Fee Structure