Auckland Council provides floating rubbish dumps in Hauraki Gulf for boaties to dispose of waste

Friday, 11 January 2019

The barges will be floating in the Hauraki Gulf until early February.

Auckland Council has provided two waste barges in the Hauraki Gulf so boats out on the water for long periods of time can dispose of their rubbish.

The barges, which are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week are located in two separate locations – one at Port Fitzroy, Great Barrier Island and the second at Man O' War Bay, Waiheke Island.

Each barge is set up with 240 litre wheelie bins, some of which are assigned for general waste and others for recyclable materials.

Programme director of waste solutions at Auckland Council, Parul Sood, said the barges are there for boats out on the water for longer periods.

The Waiheke barge is moored at Man O’ War Bay, Waiheke Island.

*Waiheke Island beauty spots marred by dumped rubbish**

Boaties can tie up to the barge or row out and safely secure their vessels alongside.

The barge is moored at Port Fitzroy, on the south side of the Man of War Passage, just north of Smokehouse Bay.

'Auckland Council has set up summer waste barge services in the Hauraki Gulf to support leisure boat users to effectively manage their waste while out on the water,' Sood said.

However, if people were visiting one of the islands for the day either by boat or ferry, the council has asked people to take their waste home with them when they leave.

'We're asking people to take their waste home with them and dispose of it responsibly, in their kerbside waste or recycling bins,' Sood said.

The wheelie bins on the barges were designed to be clean, watertight and smell-free.

The Waiheke Island waste barge will be open until February 7, 2019 and the Great Barrier Island waste barge will remain open until February 6, 2019.

How to use the summer waste barges

• Pre-sort your waste into rubbish and recyclable materials before you arrive at the barge.

• Place all items in the appropriate marked wheelie bins – general waste or recycling.

• Recyclable materials wheelie bins have a green body and yellow lid.

• Please do not leave rubbish bags or loose items on the deck of the barge. Ensure all rubbish bags are placed in the general waste bins.

• Recycle as much as you can: glass bottles and jars, aluminium cans/empty aerosols, steel and tin cans, plastics labelled 1-7, paper and cardboard, and Tetra Pak cartons (milk and juice).

• Remember to: rinse all containers, leave the lids on all bottles and containers, containers should be no larger than 4 litres.

• NB: the Great Barrier Island Barge is unable to accept Tetra Pak cartons or bottle lids. Please place these items with your general waste.

• A rule of thumb to follow is that you can recycle most packaging containers from your kitchen, bathroom, and laundry.