Western Bay of Plenty District Council has your back with all you need to know to manage your rubbish and recycling this summer.

As always, the holiday season brings changes to kerbside collections.

With Christmas and New Year’s Day falling on weekdays this year, there are changes to your normal kerbside collection days over these two weeks.

So if your normal collection day is a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, your bins will be collected a day later than usual. If your bin day is a Monday or Tuesday, put your bins out as normal.

There will also be extra collections in Waihī Beach, Bowentown, Athenree (townships) and Pukehina over late December and January. This is to cover the extra people in these holiday hotspots.

The council’s solid waste operations lead, Katie McHugh, says the contractors work hard throughout the year and deserve a well-earned break.

“Our kerbside collection teams are out there rain, hail or shine, so it’s great we can give them both days off to spend with their families,” she said.

Here’s the details:

Waihī Beach, Bowentown, Athenree townships:

For Waihī Beach, Bowentown and Athenree townships there will be extra collections from Saturday, December 28, to Friday, January 31, to help with the huge influx of visitors over summer.

-On Saturday, December 28, we’ll collect rubbish, food scraps and glass

-Every Monday – from Monday, December 30, until Monday January 27, we’ll empty all bins – rubbish, recycling, glass and food scraps

-On Saturday, January 4, we’ll collect rubbish and food scraps only

-Every Friday - from Friday, January 10, until Friday, January 31, we’ll collect rubbish and food scraps only

Pukehina:

For all kerbside collection areas around the District:

-if your normal collection day is a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, your bins will be collected a day later than usual.

-If your normal collection day is a Monday or Tuesday, put your bins out as per normal.

If you are not sure of your days, visit our kerbside page for collection days.

Katie says Waihī Beach, Athenree and Bowentown are hotspots, especially during summer.

“More people means more waste, and we’re committed to helping you and our visitors tackle it with extra kerbside collections.

“Nobody wants overflowing bins. They attract pests, start to smell, and litter the environment. So, take advantage of these extra collections and clue in your guests about the summer schedule,” says Katie.

Don’t forget our super simple pay-as-you-throw (PAYT) tag system. Red rubbish bins won’t get emptied without those pre-purchased PAYT tags properly looped through the black and red handles. Visit kerbsidecollective.co.nz/payt/ for all locations you can purchase PAYT tags.

You can also download the Antenno app and receive notifications the day before your collection day to jog your memory about putting out the bins. Visit westernbay.govt.nz/antenno.

Top tips for smooth kerbside collections:

-Don’t pack the blue glass crate to the brim; keep it level with the top lip

-Pop your bins on the ‘kerb’ by 7am in an easy-to-reach spot

-Don’t forget to attach PAYT tags correctly to your red rubbish bin

-Keep bins at least 30cm apart, and make sure the food scraps bin is visible from the road for the driver

-Got extra recycling? Drop it off at any of our recycling centres. Check the holiday hours at westernbay.govt.nz/summerinfo

For more information, visit kerbsidecollective.co.nz.