HazMobile

How does our household hazardous waste collection work?

Each year Hastings and Napier councils provide a free hazardous waste service for householders.

• We are not advertising where the collection is taking place. When people register online, we will let them know where to come to.
• There are limited spaces - the collection is restricted to the first 650 registrations.
• VERY IMPORTANT. We will not accept casual drive-ins. You must register online (if you don't have access to a computer, please call HDC Customer Service on +64 6 871 5000 and they'll book you in if there are still spaces).
• EQUALLY IMPORTANT. We will only accept the hazardous goods you listed during registration. So please think carefully about what you want to get rid of. Better still, check the shed prior to registration.

When is it?

As a HazMobile event was held in March 2024, there will not be another one in 2024. A decision will be made in late 2024 on whether a HazMobile will happen in 2025.

You can safely dispose of many hazardous waste items year-round. Use our online A-Z Waste Guide to search where to take your items.

Some of the common items you can dispose of include motor oil, car batteries, fluorescent light tubes, paint and gas cylinders. Fees may apply, so contact each provider to find out.

For questions, contact our team via reducewaste@hdc.govt.nz

What items does the HazMobile take?

The HazMobile accepts most hazardous materials you might find at home. These include:

• Paints, solvents and paint strippers
• Wood preservatives
• Glues and resins
• All types of garden chemicals, including pesticides, herbicides and fertilisers
• Petrol, oil and diesel
• Car care products
• All types of cleaners including toilet and drain cleaners, oven cleaners, bleaches and disinfectants
• Pool chemicals
• Furniture/shoe polish
• Lead-acid car and boat batteries and tool and household rechargeable batteries
• Gas cylinders.

What won't we take?

HazMobile won't take the following:

• Commercial (quantities) of hazardous waste
• School or laboratory chemicals (they present a high risk when combined with other accepted chemicals during both collection and transport)
• Asbestos
• Lead-based paint scrapings
• Electronic waste
• Whiteware
• Inorganic waste (furniture etc)
• Tyres
• Medical waste.

Getting your hazardous waste to the HazMobile - safely

Original packaging is preferred as it helps us recognise what you're bringing us. But generally:

• Containers should be in good condition - this means they should not have holes or be brittle. Lids must fit tightly.
• They must be transported upright and secured so that they can't fall over or leak liquid or gas.
• If you have a leaking container, put it into a bucket with a lid. Please remember to do this outside so that any fumes can disperse easily.
• Heavy-duty plastic bags may be acceptable for solid wastes. Please label the container clearly to help the person receiving the waste.
• If possible, it helps us if you can put all your household hazardous waste upright into cardboard boxes. This way, you not only protect your car from leaks, but it makes it much easier for us (all we need to do is lift out the box and you can be on your way!).

What do you do with all this muck?

A lot of what we collect can be recycled or even re-used.

For instance, most of the waste oil and petrol is re-used as fuel eg. to fire a large New Zealand cement kiln.

Wet cell batteries (lead-acid) are recycled in New Zealand, while rechargeable nickel-cadmium and mercury-containing batteries are recycled overseas.

Other options

Agricultural Chemicals

ChemCollect which is run through Hawkes Bay Company 3R, and the Agrecovery programme both offer agricultural chemical collection services.
See their websites for further information.

ChemCollect: https://3r.co.nz/chemcollect-2/

Agrecovery: https://www.agrecovery.co.nz/