The amount paid for in your rates is the red lid rubbish bin emptied fortnightly. If you have extra rubbish this will need to be taken to a transfer station for disposal - until the end of August 2024 official MPDC bags can be taken to the transfer station for no additional charge. Otherwise bags up to 60L currently cost $5.50 to dispose of at a transfer station (this charge is reviewed annually). All fees and charges can be found here.

Another option is to contact a bin collection company such as Smart Environmental or Wheelie Bin Services to provide additional rubbish bins as well as collection.

We encourage households to reduce their waste wherever possible and while we're not experts we're happy to try and answer any questions you might have about reducing high waste volume items in your household such as nappies or food waste. We have also had Kate Meads, who is an expert on all things waste minimisation, in for a few community info sessions. You can check her out at https://wastedkate.co.nz/.

If your rubbish bin is broken, or you are in a new house, you can request a bin through our help centre here.

Place your bins on the kerbside from smallest to largest, from the direction the driver approaches. This helps the drivers see the bins, for example, food scrap bin first, and rubbish bin second. Then it’s easier for the driver to see than if it is tucked behind the wheelie bin.

The wider apart that you can place the bins, the easier it is for the trucks to collect them. We suggest at least 30cm between each bin to avoid any accidental damage.

Also, please keep bins away from poles, fences, gates etc. so the truck arms can reach them easily.

This may happen sometimes because the current trucks are equipped with different map technology. When they use different systems, it’s hard to get a complete picture of which streets have been missed. We know this is a problem and are actively working on a solution to improve this in the meantime (until the new trucks arrive).

If your bin, or whole street, gets missed then please use this form to notify us. As soon as we get these through, then we can notify the contractors and advise them to return and collect your bin.

The rubbish bins are lifted, tipped and emptied by a machine. This means that if there is anything left over at the bottom, noone will see it. This situation will occur if the rubbish is pushed in too tightly against the walls. Please ensure that your rubbish is loose enough that it will release when flipped upside-down.

A few other ideas to avoid rubbish sticking to the bottom: check for any wet paper or cardboard in your bin, put heavy items at the bottom, and try using the bin without rubbish bags. 

There are major supply issues getting trucks, so even though the rubbish trucks have been on order for over a year now, we still don’t have the full fleet yet.

The trucks are being supported by additional waste management trucks, including a rear loader. This truck is still doing the lifting and tipping – it just does it differently to the side loading trucks, and requires the crew to move the bin in to place and then back to the kerb.  

Once we have our full fleet in place, you might still see the rear loader being used sometimes e.g. in small/narrow streets.

The rubbish bin is collected fortnightly with your food scraps bin.

The kerbside collection days are:

• Matamata (incl. Waharoa and Walton): Tuesday
• Morrinsville (incl. Tahuna): Wednesday 
• Te Aroha (incl. Waitoa and Waihou): Thursday

Use your calendar to see which weeks are rubbish collection, or sign up to our handy Antenno reminders each week.

• medical waste (check with your pharmacist if they can take it back - if not it must be taken to a transfer station)
• hazardous materials (such as oil or paint - check if the supplier can take it back - if not it must be taken to a transfer station)
• ashes (if you can not dispose of these once cool in a garden at home, please bring them in to a transfer station)
• liquids (please empty at home before putting containers in your rubbish bin unless liquids are hazardous such as oil or paint - take these directly to a transfer station)
• batteries (battery recycling sheds will soon be available at transfer stations - please hold on to them for now)
• please don't put food waste (this can go in your food scraps bin) or green waste (this can be taken to green waste disposal at the transfer station) in your rubbish bin.

All food waste should be going in your home compost, worm farm or food scraps bin.

Green waste can be re-used on your home garden or taken to a transfer station.

Food waste and green waste in landfill are a big problem as they release methane gas while the landfill is still open, take up space which is at a premium and then once the landfill is sealed it decomposes slowly, and without oxygen. This process produces more methane, which is a greenhouse gas 84 times more powerful than CO2 over a 20-year period.