Household rubbish bags
 The Council provides a weekly refuse collection service for about 127,000 households.
Your rates pay for the supply, collection and disposal of 26 black rubbish bags a year. Only official Council rubbish bags are collected at kerbside each week. This is because the price of a rubbish bag includes the cost of collection and disposal of the rubbish in the bag.
You may put out as many official Council rubbish bags as you like on collection day. They must be official Council rubbish bags which can be identified by the Council logo printed on the bag. Bags must be securely tied and weigh no more than 15kg each use more bags for heavy material.
Any bags that split or become damaged after being placed at the kerbside will be cleared up within a reasonable area by the collectors, as long as the bags met requirements when they were put out.
If there is a problem in your area with dogs or cats damaging rubbish bags, then please put your bag at the kerbside first thing in the morning rather than the night before collection day.
Click here to find out about collection days and times.
Banks Peninsula
Kerbside household refuse collections are available in the urban centres of Akaroa, Little River, the Lyttelton Harbour Basin and Port Levy.
The annual rubbish bag delivery is normally undertaken in the Lyttelton Harbour Basin and Port Levy urban areas during Mid-Late June and Akaroa and Little River urban areas in July.
A total of 26 bags are delivered to property owners within the Lyttelton Harbour Basin, Port Levy, Akaroa and Little River urban areas.
Property owners are requested to contact a Council Service Centre if you have not received your yearly supply of refuse bags by 31 July.
A reminder that rubbish will be collected only when it is presented in an official Council rubbish bag.
Reject bags
Rubbish bags should contain only normal household waste and must not include unwrapped sharp objects, hot ashes, liquids, or dangerous objects. Overweight bags, unsafe bags, bags containing liquid or hazardous materials, and non-regulation bags will not be collected. All refuse that is not collected will be marked with a sticker noting the reason it was rejected. The householder is responsible for removing any reject bags marked with a sticker as soon as possible.
Glass and sharp objects
Anything that might come through the side of the bag and injure the collectors should be placed in an open container beside the bag. This enables the collectors to handle objects like broken glass and sharp pieces of metal safely. Pieces of broken glass should be no larger than 30cm x 40cm.
Annual bag allocation
Each fully rateable property in Christchurch is entitled to 26 rubbish bags each year. In May, rubbish bag coupons are sent to the ratepayer or property manager. These coupons can be redeemed for rubbish bags at most supermarkets from 1 May to 31 May 2008 or, at Council service centres until 30 September 2008. Check your coupon for its expiry date.
If you require more bags they can be purchased in packs of five or more from Council service centres and from most supermarkets.
Five and ten packs of official Council rubbish bags
Currently $6 for 5 bags or $12 for 10 bags at Council service centres, higher price at supermarkets. From 1 July 2008 the cost of a pack of 5 bags will be $8, or $16 for 10 bags.
Packs of 26 official Council rubbish bags
Council rubbish bags can be purchased from participating supermarkets.
When you move house or flat, you must leave the rubbish bags supplied to that property, for the next owners or tenants.
Why 26 rubbish bags?
 To reduce rubbish.
In 2004, Council reduced the bag allocation from 52 to 26 bags per year to encourage people to recycle, compost and generally reduce the amount of rubbish that they throw out. Most of the contents of a typical rubbish bag can actually be recycled or composted. Organics (kitchen and green waste) make up to 46% of an average rubbish bag and, paper makes up to 28%.
By recycling and composting all they can, people should find they can get by with half the number of bags.
Other facilities available
If you have too much recycling to fit into the crates, or you have a household item that could be reused, The RMF recycling centres at the three refuse stations accept domestic recyclables/reusables free of charge.
For more information on recycling and waste minimisation, check out the following links:
If you have any problems or questions regarding collection, please phone our Council Waste line on (03) 941-8830 or email us at waste@ccc.govt.nz. Recorded information is also available 24 hours a day by phoning (03) 941-8666.
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