Close the Lid. From 8 July, overfull bins will not be collected

There are changes coming to the kerbside collection of rubbish and recycling bins across Taranaki.

Overfilled bins, where the lid is not level or closed, will not be able to be collected from 8 July. If your bin is not picked-up because it’s overfull, you’ll need to wait until your next collection day.

Why won’t you pick up overfull rubbish and recycling bins?

• It’s cleaner and more efficient. Overfilled bins can lead to litter and mess falling (or blowing, if it’s windy) onto streets and footpaths. It then takes extra time and people-power to clean it up.
• To support lower rates. Extra rubbish in your red-lid bin means ratepayers have to pay extra to dispose of it. Most of the per-tonne cost to send household waste to landfill is due to government levies, and these are only going to rise. Reducing the amount we send to landfill, keeps your solid waste rates down.
• For a more sustainable future! Being low-impact and planet-friendly can take a bit of extra work, but cutting down on overfilled bins will help reduce our impact on the environment.

What can I do with the extra rubbish I have?

Stratford already has Taranaki’s most generous rubbish collection. We collect 120 litre general waste bins from residents every week, compared to the 140 litre bins collected fortnightly elsewhere in the region.

If you need more room in your rubbish bin, making sure you’re recycling as much as possible through your home recycling bin, or for free at the Stratford Transfer Station, is key!

We recently did a deep dive into local bins and here’s what we found

What’s in local bins, by weight (2025)