Rotorua Recycling Centre
Location and opening hours
28 Te Ngae Road, Victoria, Rotorua, 3010
- Monday to Saturday: 7:30am - 4:30pm
- Sunday and public holidays: 9:30am - 4:30pm
- Christmas Day and Good Friday: Closed
What things can I drop to the Recycling Centre?
Polystyrene not accepted here
The Recycling Centre has been seeing an increase in people trying to drop off polystyrene for recycling. Please be aware that the centre does not accept polystyrene for recycling.
You will need to take this to the Rotorua South Resource Recovery Park instead or into your red kerbside rubbish bin, if it fits.
The following items are accepted at the Rotorua Recycling Centre.
All items must be clean and dry.
Please check plastic items carefully for the plastic identification code symbol with a number in it – only plastic numbers 1, 2 and 5 are accepted at the recycling centre.
| Paper | For example, newspaper, magazines, envelopes, junk mail, used note paper, clean paper packaging and bags |
|---|---|
| Cardboard | Cardboard boxes and packaging, for example egg cartons, pizza boxes |
| Plastic #1 | Labelled with a triangle and number 1, for example clear food packaging and bottles |
| Plastic #2 | Labelled with a triangle and number 2, for example cleaning bottles, product bottles |
| Plastic #5 | Labelled with a triangle and number 5, for example ice cream containers, larger yoghurt tubs, margarine containers, other plastic tubs and containers |
| Glass jars and bottles | Clear, green or brown glass |
| Aluminium and tin cans | Clean food and drink cans |
| Infant and child car seats | Children's car seats can be recycled for $10 per seat. Council is subsidising $25 of the total $35 cost per seat to recycle them through SeatSmart. The cost to recycle covers collection, transportation and dismantling. Read more on their website seatsmart.co.nz |
| E-waste | See below for item types accepted and pricing details |
| Washers and dryers | A $20 recycling fee applies |
| Fridges and Freezers | A $25 fee applies for degassing and disposal. To meet regulatory requirements, fridges and freezers must be degassed before they can be scrapped. The total cost to degas, transport, and dispose of a fridge or freezer typically ranges between $40 and $60, depending on the unit. Council subsidises the cost to cap the fee at $25. If the refrigerant lines have been cut or disconnected, the $25 fee still apply |
Plastics numbered 3, 4, 6 and 7 cannot be collected in Rotorua kerbside recycling. They are much harder to recycle and their market value is low - these plastics are currently being phased out.
More information on plastics being phased out
Electronic recycling (E-waste)
It is important to recycle e-waste in an appropriate and environmentally friendly way. This can be done at the Recycling Centre where the following fees apply, please pay at the office on site:
Item | Charge |
|---|---|
CRT television | $35 |
Plasma/LCD televisions (flat screen) | $25 |
CRT computer monitor | $30 |
LCD computer monitor | $25 |
Printer, scanner, fax | $10 |
Photocopier (large) | $60 |
Laptop computer | $10 |
Laptop battery (only) | $3 |
Small appliances (eg stereo system, gaming console, microwave, vacuum cleaner, heater) | $10 |
Speakers (per unit) | $10 |
Modem, router, keyboard, small peripherals, mouse, UPS unit | $3 |
Copier toner | Free |
Desktop computer (box only) | Free |
Server (box only) | Free |
PVC wire cables | Free |
Cellphone, tablets | Free |
DVD/CD/VCR player | $10 |
What items are not accepted?
| Items not accepted at the Recycling Centre | ||
|---|---|---|
Soft plastics including plastic bags, plastic film and cling wrap, bread bags, bubble wrap, snack food wrappers | Liquid paperboard e.g. TetraPak (longlife/almond milk packaging, pre-made stock and single serve juice packaging) | Shiny or waxed gift wrap |
Drinking glasses, light bulbs or windows | Empty aerosol cans (e.g. deodorant) | Fireworks |
Wood or building materials | Plastic from appliances or toys | Polystyrene (e.g. noodle containers, black meat trays or foam packaging) |
Aluminium foil or food trays | Medical products (including blister packs) | Building paper |
Re-usable cloth shopping bags | CD, videos and cases they come in | Garden waste |
Clothing, shoes or fabric | Coat hangers of any kind | Crockery and ceramics |
Disposable coffee cups | ||
This list does not cover all items not accepted at the Recycling Centre. If you would like to clarify if something is recyclable or not, please call 07 348 4199 to speak to someone from Council’s Customer Solutions team.
Battery recycling
Household batteries and battery-embedded devices can be put into the special battery recycling bin at the Recycling Centre e-waste collection table. Do not recycle damaged or leaking batteries as these are hazardous.
Batteries that can be accepted in this collection bin include:
- Alkaline (single use, non-rechargeable household batteries)
- Lithium-ion and nickel cadmium (rechargeable batteries from household items, power tools, laptops, mobile phones)
- Lithium metal (non-rechargeable lithium batteries, including button batteries)
- Lithium primary and lithium-ion embedded (non-rechargeable and chargeable batteries embedded in items like headphones, laptops, mobile phones, power banks, toothbrushes, vapes, smoke alarms).
Damaged batteries cannot be recycled; please ensure batteries are not leaking before putting in for recycling.
Please do not put rechargeable batteries or devices (e.g. vapes, power banks, smart watches) in your kerbside bins as they can be a significant fire risk.
Larger batteries, e.g. car batteries, can also be dropped to the Recycling Centre.
