Which Bin? New Zealand Kerbside Colours Explained

Most New Zealand councils now run a three-stream kerbside service. The red-lidded bin is for rubbish bound for landfill, the yellow-lidded bin is for recycling, and a green bin — sometimes a small caddy-style bin, sometimes a full wheelie bin — takes food scraps, garden waste, or both. Christchurch is the classic three-bin city: red, yellow and green wheelie bins, with the green organics bin collected weekly. Auckland runs a red-lidded rubbish bin, a larger yellow-lidded recycling bin and a small food scraps bin rolled out to urban households from 2023.

Where colours differ, they differ meaningfully — some councils still use an all-green or all-black bin for rubbish, or issue council-branded rubbish bags instead of a wheelie bin at all. Wellington, for example, has long used official council bags for rubbish alongside a recycling wheelie bin and a separate glass crate. If you have just moved, the council website or the sticker on the bin lid is the fastest way to decode your local system.

The red-lidded bin is for everything that cannot be recycled or composted: nappies, polystyrene, soft plastics and plastic wrap, broken crockery and glassware, vacuum dust, pet waste and ash that has gone fully cold. In most cities it is collected weekly or fortnightly, depending on whether a food scraps service takes the smelly material out of it.

Never put hazardous items in the rubbish bin. Batteries — especially lithium batteries from vapes, tools and toys — are a leading cause of fires in collection trucks and at sorting facilities across New Zealand. Paint, chemicals, gas bottles and fluorescent tubes belong at a council hazardous waste drop-off, and most transfer stations accept household quantities free or for a small fee.

The yellow-lidded bin is for household recyclables: paper and cardboard, steel and aluminium cans, and — since the national standardisation of February 2024 — only rigid plastic bottles, trays and containers marked with recycling symbols 1, 2 or 5. Glass bottles and jars are accepted in many areas, though some councils collect glass separately in a crate. Everything goes in loose, empty and lightly rinsed — never in a plastic bag.

Plastics numbered 3, 4, 6 and 7, along with soft plastics, lids under 50 mm and aerosol cans, are now excluded everywhere under the national rules. Soft plastics such as bags, wrappers and chip packets can go to the Soft Plastics Recycling scheme bins at participating supermarkets instead. When in doubt, leave it out — a contaminated load can send the whole truck's recycling to landfill.

The green stream is where councils differ most. Christchurch's green-lidded organics bin takes all food scraps plus garden waste, collected weekly. Auckland's small food scraps bin takes food only — including meat, bones, dairy, citrus and coffee grounds — while garden waste needs a separate paid green waste service or home composting. Hamilton, Tauranga and several other centres run food scraps or combined services of their own.

Across every service the exclusions are consistent: no plastic bags or packaging, no 'biodegradable' or 'compostable' plastics unless your council explicitly allows them, no nappies or pet waste, and no soil, rocks or large branches. Many councils accept a newspaper wrap or a certified compostable liner — check which before you buy. Our food scraps guide goes into the detail.

From 1 February 2024 the Ministry for the Environment standardised what can go in kerbside recycling nationwide, ending decades of postcode lottery over yoghurt pots and pizza boxes. The accepted list is now the same everywhere: glass bottles and jars, paper and cardboard, steel and aluminium cans, and plastics 1, 2 and 5. Councils were also directed to offer kerbside recycling to all urban households, with food scraps collections for larger towns and cities to follow by 2027.

Standardisation covers the materials, not the bin colours or collection schedules — those remain council decisions, which is why your rubbish might be weekly while the next town over runs fortnightly. Whatever the schedule, a free BinMinder reminder the night before keeps you ahead of the truck.

• Bagging recycling — bags jam sorting machinery, so bagged contents go straight to landfill.
• Soft plastics in the yellow bin — bags, film and wrappers are rubbish, or supermarket soft-plastics drop-offs.
• Wrong plastic numbers — since 2024 only 1, 2 and 5 are accepted; check the triangle on the base.
• Food-soiled containers — a quick scrape and rinse is enough, they do not need to be spotless.
• Batteries or vapes in any bin — a genuine fire risk; use a battery drop-off point instead.
• Overflowing bins — the lid must close flat, and overfull bins are routinely left on the kerb.