Refuse and Recycling Transfer Stations

We operate seven Refuse and Recycling Transfer Stations – at Thames, Coromandel Town, Matarangi, Whitianga, Tairua, Pāuanui and Whangamatā.

They're open to standard hours, seven days a week including most public holidays:

During daylight saving 28 September 2025 – 4 April 2026	Monday to Sunday, 8:30am - 5:30pm
Outside of daylight saving 6 April 2025 – 27 September 2025	Monday to Sunday, 8:30am - 4:30pm
Closed	Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Good Friday and until 1pm on Anzac day
After Hours Drop Off	The RTS sites at Matarangi, Tairua, Whangamatā and Pāuanui all have after hours disposal facilities for rubbish bags at $5 each (Household waste only) and free drop off of recycling and glass. All other materials please visit the sites during opening hours.

What materials do transfer stations accept?

The following household materials are accepted at your local Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station.

General rubbish

General household rubbish is accepted at all sites

Unofficial bags of rubbish (60 litre) cost $5 to dispose of.
Unofficial small bags of rubbish (20 litre) cost $2 to dispose of.
No cost to dispose of rubbish in the old Council pre-paid blue bags.
For other volumes of rubbish please see our fees and charges section.

black tick.png Household recycling (clean and lids removed)

The following recycling materials are accepted at all sites at no charge.

black tick.png Plastics containers 1, 2 & 5
Paper and cardboard
Aluminium cans and tin cans
Glass bottles and jars

Household soft plastics

Household quantities of clean soft plastics recycling are accepted at Whangamatā, Whitianga, Thames and Tairua Refuse and Recycling Transfer Stations at no charge.

Metal recycling

Domestic volumes of scrap metal, whiteware and car bodies are accepted at all transfer stations. Please see our fees and charges section.

Green waste

Unwanted plant material from gardens is called green waste. Our transfer stations accept some green waste. Please see our fees and charges section.

Some plant material is not accepted and is listed below:

Cross symbol.png Stringy plants (e.g. flax, cabbage trees, yukka, banana trees etc.)

Cross symbol.png Noxious plants or weeds (e.g. ragwort, ginger, box thorn, agapanthus, gorse etc.)

Cross symbol.png Fibrous plants/ trees (e.g. ponga trees, palms, ferns, bamboo etc.)

Cross symbol.png Oversize branches (greater than 150mm diameter and longer than 1200mm)

Cross symbol.png Green waste containing contaminates such as stones, concrete, bricks, plastic, weed matter or bark.

Tyres

Household quantities (maximum of five per customer visit) of tyres are accepted at all transfer stations. Please see our fees and charges section.

Hazardous waste

Household quantities (e.g. 20 litres of liquid or less, 5kg of powder or less) of items listed below are accepted at all sites at no charge.

Please hand these items in at the transfer station for appropriate disposal - do not place them in the general rubbish pit.

black tick.png Garden herbicide and pesticides
Waste oil
Leftover paint and wood stain
Methylated spirits, turpentine, paint stripper
Pool chlorine
Household cleaning products
Household LPG cylinders and camping butane gas bottles
Fire extinguishers
Helium cylinders
Fluorescent tubes
black tick.png Flares
Aerosol cans
Batteries:
- car
- dry cell
- general household
- power tool
- button cell.

Some hazardous waste materials are not accepted

Cross symbol.png Bulk volumes of liquids or powders
Radioactive wastes
Explosives
PCB wastes
Asbestos or products containing asbestos
Fuel
E-waste such as old computers, tablets and mobile phones. (Please contact the Seagull Centre about your e-waste)
Hazardous waste unlabelled (e.g. unknown hazardous waste classification)
Cross symbol.png Ammunition
Dive tanks/ pressurised air tanks
Medical waste

Other materials not accepted at any Refuse and Recycling Transfer Station

Cross symbol.png Clean fill or hard fill (clay, soil, rocks, brick, stones, concrete, gravel etc.)
Full trees
Tree branches longer than 1200mm
Tree branches thicker than 150mm
Tree stumps thicker than 150mm
Timber lengths longer than 1200mm
Offal / dead stock / or other animals

Fees and charges

Check out the fees and charges

Please note: The following RTS sites have weighbridges: Thames, Whitianga, Whangamatā and Tairua. These sites have no weighbridges: Coromandel Town, Matarangi and Pāuanui.

Our Refuse Transfer Stations don't take cash for payment, but welcome EFTPOS, debit and credit cards. Going cashless is helping us streamline our service and keep our team members and customers safe.