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My bins

Information on your wheelie bins, including reporting lost, stolen or missing bins and changing bin sizes.

Wheelie Bins

Bin not collected

Report a missed wheelie bin collection

If your bin was not collected, a sticker or tag should be stuck to it explaining the reasons why.

If there was no sticker or you think your bin was missed, please leave your bin outside your house and contact the Council within 48 hours.

It's helpful if you can list the serial number of your bin when reporting it.

Report

There are many reasons your bins may not have been emptied on collection day, such as:

  • lids were not shut flat or bins were overflowing
  • bin contained liquid, hazardous or contaminated waste
  • bins were not registered to your property
  • bins were too heavy – bins heavier than 70kg are unable to be emptied
  • bin was not put out on time (out by 6am and in by 11pm)
  • bin was not correctly presented outside of your property (at least 50 centimetres apart from each other and from obstructions like trees and power poles)

Report a damaged or missing bin

Report a missing or damaged wheelie bin

It's helpful if you can list the serial number of your bin when reporting it.

Report

Damaged bins

  • We will repair or replace a faulty or damaged bin at no cost providing there has been no purposeful vandalism of the bin by the property owner.
  • Graffiti is not considered damage and is the responsibility of the householder to remove.

  • The repair will take place on your next collection day (within 2 weeks), please leave bin kerbside from 6am to 6pm.

Lost, stolen or missing bins

  • Contact us within 24 hours (and before 11pm on the day after your collection) online or by calling 03 941 8999 or 0800 800 169 to report a lost, stolen or missing bin. 
  • Once you have contacted us, check that a neighbour hasn't taken your bin by mistake. The sticker on the side of the bin will show the right property address.
  • If you find your bin please let us know.

Replacing a lost, stolen or missing bin

Your bin will be replaced on the next collection day.
 
If there are any replacements costs, your bins will be replaced on the next collection day after payment has been received.

Replacement costs

  • There is no charge for a replacement bin if you report the missing bin within 24 hours of your collection day. 
  • If you report the missing bin more than 24 hours later, there will be a charge per bin.
  • If you leave your bin outside of your property after 11pm on your collection day and it is stolen, there will be a replacement charge, regardless of when you report the bin missing.
  • If your bin is stolen from within a private property there will be a replacement charge.
Replacement cost (inc GST) Bin size
$109.00 80 litre bin
$120.00 140 litre bin
$132.00 240 litre bin

Swap the size of your bins

Change the size of your wheelie bins

If you select a large green bin, or two large yellow bins, you will be charged the additional annual service fee by Waste Management.

Apply

When you first request bins for your property

You can select a:

  • 240 litre or 80 litre yellow recycling bin
  • 140 litre or 80 litre red rubbish bin
  • 80 litre green organics bin

Swapping to a different sized bin

If you want to swap the size of your existing bins, you can choose to:

  • Upsize or downsize your yellow recycling or red rubbish bin for a one-off charge of $93.
  • Upsize or downsize both your yellow recycling and red rubbish bins for a one-off charge of $105.

Please note:

  • Your yellow recycling bin must be the same size or bigger than your red rubbish bin.
  • These are one-off charges, include GST and are valid until 30 June 2019.
  • Only the property owner, manager or Housing NZ officer can request to swap a bin.

Adding an additional bin or enhancing your bin service

If you need more capacity than the standard set of bins you can apply for:

  • A larger 240 litre organics bin for an annual charge of $194.
  • An additional 240 litre recycling bin for an annual charge of $39.

These annual fees include GST and are subject to change upon yearly renewal.  

We do not provide a larger or additional red rubbish bin. This is in line with Council policy encouraging people to reduce waste to landfill. 

You will need to pay the annual fee before the bin is delivered. The billing year will begin when the bin is delivered to your property. 

You will be asked if you want to renew this service one month before your contract (billing year) expires. If you do not wish to continue this service, please contact Waste Management on 0800 222 431 within 2 weeks of receiving account to cancel the service.

Request new bins

Request wheelie bins at a new address

Apply

Moving house or demolished properties

Moving out

Leave the wheelie bins behind at the property you are leaving.

There is a cost to replace missing or stolen bins, there is also a cost to change the size of the bins allocated to the property. When moving house it is up to you to contact your real estate agent or the previous owners to determine who will pay the invoice. It is recommended that you include this as part of your sales and purchase agreement when purchasing. 

Wheelie bins are registered to the property, not to the owner.  The property you are moving to will have bins.  If any bins at your new house are missing, please contact the previous owner or landlord to try to locate them.  If you can't find the bins, or if the house is newly built, please contact the Council to request new bins.

Demolished properties

If your property is being demolished, please contact the Council to let us know the demolition date. The bins will be picked up and stored at no additional cost.

Once the property is rebuilt, contact the Council and the bins will be returned to the property. 

A $34.50 charge will apply for any replacement bins that were unable to be recovered or accounted for. 

Tips to look after your bins

Tips to help you use and look after your wheelie bins.

Bin liners and bags

  • Red bin – You are welcome to use any sort of liner or bag inside the red bin to keep it clean.
  • Yellow bin – Please do not use any liner inside the yellow bin.
  • Green bin – Please do not use any liner or bag inside the organics bin. Food scraps and garden waste can be placed loose in the bin or otherwise wrapped in newspaper. 
  • Compostable and/or biodegradable bags should not be used to line the green bin. These have not been approved for use in our facility.

Assistance for visually impaired residents

All bins are marked with a raised symbol on the lid which people can feel to distinguish between each bin type:

  • a raised triangle for the recycling bin
  • a raised square for the rubbish bin
  • a raised circle for the organics bin

Decorating bins

Decorating wheelie bins is not encouraged. However, if decorations can be easily removed and do not cover the Christchurch City Council logo or bin serial number, collection will not be impacted.

Address labels

Contact the Council if the address label has fallen off your wheelie bin. You will need to provide the serial number of your wheelie bin to get a replacement address label.

Find your bin's serial number

Your bin's serial number is printed in white on the side of your bin. 

Knowing the serial number is helpful for our contractor to ensure we identify the correct bin.

Wheelie bins

Wheelie bin stocktake

The purpose of the wheelie bin stocktake is to save on the cost of the collection disposal and processing of material paid for by rates and to make sure properties are not receiving additional services above their entitlement, as this is unfair to other ratepayers. 

The Council will save $9.3 million net by 2029 when its current contract with Waste Management concludes.

The stocktake is near completion and all your bins should be tagged. A small yellow reflective sticker on the side of your bin indicates if the bin has been tagged.

If your bin does not have a sticker this short video will help you check if the bin still requires tagging.

Report a bin not tagged or an extra bin to be removed

Let us know if your bin was not tagged or you have extra bins to remove. Untagged bins will not be emptied.

You will need to provide the serial number from the side of your bin when reporting it.

Important: This form is not for reporting a missed bin collection. 

Report