Recycling and rubbish collection in the Tertiary area
Find all the information you need about recycling and rubbish collection on the Dunedin City Council (DCC) website, including a map of the area covered, and an app to remind you which bin is collected when.
Find out what goes in which bins:
Diversion Days on Castle Street
Four Diversion Day events will be held over the course of the student year at the Marsh Study Centre carpark. These days are designed to reduce unnecessary waste going straight to landfill. The recycling options are for clean cardboard, glass (separated out by colour), cans, other metal items, and some small electronic appliances.
All recycling should be sorted prior to placing the recycling in the correct bins. Gloves will be provided if sorting needs to happen at the time of disposing of materials. General waste skips are ONLY available for items with no recycling or donating options.
The Diversion Days for 2023 are:
- 24 February
- 24 March
- 20 October
- 10 November
All Diversion Day events are run from 10am–2pm, with all the bins being removed at 2pm. These events are for current students only – ID cards will be checked.
No whiteware (fridges, freezers) is allowed in the general waste as it needs to be degassed. No batteries, or building/construction waste.
Please follow the guidelines from the staff and volunteers on site and do not place anything in the bins without consulting with the staff.
Other services
Free rubbish and recycling disposal
The Waste Management transfer station located at 33 Wickliffe Street, Dunedin Central is available to University of Otago students for free in 2023 upon presentation of a valid student ID. When arriving at the transfer station, you must go across the weighbridge and show your ID to the weighbridge staff by getting out of your vehicle. Metal, cardboard, and glass recycling options are available and must be used by students if you have those items. Once you have disposed of your waste you must come back across the weighbridge to weigh out.
Please wear adequate footwear on site e.g. no jandals or bare feet. Please follow the health and safety guidelines of the site, this includes making sure to stay within the speed limit and under no circumstances are you allowed to ride on a trailer or stand on the back of a moving vehicle.
This service is designed for extra household waste that is produced throughout the year and is not a substitute for weekly rubbish service nor for building/renovation or large amounts of green waste. If you are disposing of building/renovation/green waste, you will be charged regular fees.
When visiting the transfer station, you must weigh in and weigh out, this is a condition of entry.
Failure to show ID when entering the transfer station to weigh in may result in regular fees being charged due to being already being added into the system.
Any questions please email emily.colquhoun@otago.ac.nz
Trailers
Campus Watch have two caged trailers, brooms, and shovels all available for students to use for free.
Green Island Landfill
The landfill at Green Island offers many recycling options. All these are free for the public to use, but there is a cost to drop off rubbish and green waste.
- Paper
- Cardboard
- Glass bottles and jars (no lids and they must be clean)
- Rigid plastics 1, 2, and 5 (no lids and they must be clean)
- Polystyrene
- batteries
- e-waste – at a cost.
The landfill site also has a Rummage store for donation of unwanted reusable goods.
E-waste
E-waste cannot be placed in the general rubbish bin. There are many options for different e-waste items.
- TVs: These can be taken to the Green Island Landfill and disposed of at the Rummage store. There is a charge for these.
- Laptops, computers, tablets, printers, cameras: TechCollect NZ allows free drop-off of these items to some technology stores.
- Cell phones: Free disposal at Spark, One NZ, 2degrees, and Noel Leeming stores listed on the Re:Mobile website or at the Green Island Landfill Rummage store.
- Household batteries: Can be dropped off for free at the Rummage store.
Sustainability at Otago
Sustainability at Otago has some great tips for disposing of extra waste and ways to prevent it in the first place.