Christchurch City Council has created a process for safely disposing of EC Rainbow Sand and Creatistics – Coloured Sand products, which have been recalled due to potential asbestos contamination.
Advice for domestic residences
From Wednesday 18 November, you can drop off magic sand free of charge to any of the Council's three EcoDrop Resource Recovery Centres (RRCs) with no charge to the resident. Find your nearest RRC here(external link) and more detail here(external link).
It’s important not to place these magic sand products in kerbside bins, or as general waste at our transfer stations. This would create potential risk to the public, as well as collection and processing staff.
What you need to do:
- Place sand in a container or bag following Health NZ guidelines, or collect approved bags and an instruction sheet [PDF, 158 KB] from any EcoDrop RRC.
- To be accepted at the RRC, the sand must be in the provided heavy-duty bags, sealed and double-bagged – even if already in a sealed container. This is to avoid exposing our staff to unnecessary risk and we must take all practicable steps to protect them.
- Label each bag with your address and a description of the contents (if applicable). This is mandatory.
Please note: Residents on Banks Peninsula will need to take the sand to a city EcoDrop, as Barrys Bay is unable to collect asbestos material.
Advice for workplaces
The Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment (MBIE) website includes guidance for your business(external link).
Please note that this process is subject to change if MBIE gives new advice.
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