Waste Removal where to start?
Auckland waste removal encompasses so many things. Taking out the bins at home, tidying up the house, downsizing, clearing the renovation waste created by a construction project, stuff left over from a commercial office move, business waste removal, e waste removal , putting things into a skip bin or flexi bag, and dealing with traffic. Where to start? To make it simple let’s categorise waste removal into three areas:
Construction Waste Removal
Anytime you need to demolish (or as we like to refer to this activity- deconstruct) part of a building to improve it, remove it, or enlarge it- construction waste removal becomes something that needs to have some thought and budget attributed to it. Auckland is undergoing a period of huge growth with new homes and commercial buildings sprouting up everywhere, and housing boom that has seen unprecedented volumes of renovation waste generated, approximately 85% of all the volume of waste going into landfills comes from this activity. That’s nearly 5 tonnes for every new house being built!
Far too much construction and building waste ends up heading to landfill. There are waste companies that will tell you they can recycle the contents of your skip. Mainly your timber and gib. The timber gets used to fuel the activities of the oil refinery up at Marsden Point, trucked up in bulk on our roads. Gib gets broken up and used as land fertiliser (gypsum) for farming activities. Recycling in our world here at Junk Run is the lowest tier on the waste hierarchy spectrum before landfill. We prefer to find ways to get your construction waste removed, reused and repurposed by people who really need it for their own projects. If this is not possible, as a last resort we will try to get it recycled.
A few of the types of construction waste materials we can manage for you:
- Gib and plasterboard – good sheets are reused by our charitable partners for home renovations and for community projects
- Timber – good lengths are reused by local resource recovery centres and charities
- MDF – MDF cannot be recycled in NZ (despite what other waste collection companies will tell you).
- Concrete and aggregate – ground up to be used for roading projects
- Bricks and tiles – reused or repurposed or used for roading projects
- Iron roofing sheets – reused, repurposed or recycled
- Decking (see timber)
- Cladding
- Insulation materials – reused by local housing organisations
- Pallets – returned to pallet manufacturer or see timber comments
- Carpet and flooring vinyl – good quality items rehomed through our networks
- Metal – charities for reuse or recycled for scrap
- E waste – reallocated if working – by charities, given to repairers, or deconstructed for reclaiming of precious metals by our partners at Abilities
- Electrical wiring – reused or recycled by a local charity
- Tyres – ground up for children’s playground mats
- Plumbing fixtures and fittings – reused by local charities or delivered to scrap metal
- Kitchens- reused by charities and DIY enthusiasts
- Cupboards – as above
- Wardrobing – as above
- …and much more.
Responsible construction waste removal
We recommend keeping different types of rubbish in separate piles to reduce your costs. But if you can’t, that’s not a problem – we can sort it and separate it as we load the junk to go and take it away. We do this to separate the building waste materials that can be rehomed, and those that can be recycled or reused versus those that cannot. We also photograph and log the contents of each load and report on where each waste stream ended up.
There is a lot of waste that can be usefully reallocated,reused, repurposed or recycled. We manage waste, junk and building rubbish removal and handle renovation waste disposal in a way that reduces harm to the environment, benefits communities and helps people to think again about the waste that they are generating. We provide construction waste removal services for all sized jobs, from large commercial construction sites to DIY home renovations. Our pricing compares very favourably with flexi bags and skip bins too.
Green Star projects
We are active member of the NZGBC (New Zealand Green Building Council). The NZGBC promotes better buildings, because better buildings mean healthier, happier people. The green star building movement is growing. Thousands of better buildings are being constructed, backed by billions of dollars, providing healthier and happier workplaces and homes for thousands of Kiwis.The Green Star accreditation is an internationally-recognised rating system for the design, construction and operation of buildings, and their fitouts plus the impact they have on the local communities around them. To rate a building or fitout’s overall environmental impact, Green Star rating tools award points across nine categories including waste management and waste removal. Credits for this category are earned for demonstrating professional waste management planning, demolition waste removal and building site waste removal with an emphasis on diverting as much as possible away from landfill to be reused or recycled. There needs to be full transparent reporting during and after the project.
Junk Run specialises in these sustainability reports, with our own inhouse bespoke IT system that has been developed to capture all aspects of construction and demolition waste removal ( waste streams, volumes, weights and exactly where it got offloaded).Our work in diverting the waste we remove back out into the community to be reused has earned us a finalist accolade for the 2019 Sustainable Business Network awards “Going Circular” category. You can learn more about maximising your Green Star credits by reading our blog here. If you are considering a Greenstar or Homestar project, or you are a demolition, construction or interior refit company employed to work on these projects and you want to talk to the experts on Greenstar waste removal – please ring David on 021 586 551 or our main information line 021 586 544.
Civil Share – sharing the knowledge
Another very useful tool in the waste removal arsenal is Civil Share. Civil share is a very handy app that you can download to list any construction waste leftovers you may have (for no charge) with a view to trading them or offering them free to a good home. If you need any equipment or materials to complete a job- you can also put a “wanted” ad up for free. It’s a convenient and smart way to allow people all over the country to communicate about what they have that may be of use to someone else. If you haven’t checked it out- download Civil Share from the app store and have a play. If you are working for a larger construction company that has multiple sites- you can create private chat groups to ask for equipment and talk about what is left over or what is needed, so you can swop and share between sites to keep costs down. Civil Share has saved thousands of tonnes of unnecessary construction waste and materials from being thrown into skips and carted off to landfill- which we think is a win-win for everyone. Community projects and charities looking for construction materials can also get quite a few things for free through Civil Share.
Community Recycling centres (CRC’s)
We love these facilities and encourage everyone to get out to the nearest one to you and have a good rummage. If you like op shopping, upcycling, thrifting or finding cheaper ways to do projects- then these are the places for you. Usually they are situated right next to the actual landfill station – so you can get a glimpse at the waste removal Auckland process for yourself – and see items going straight into landfill.
You will find construction materials, kitchen cupboards and sinks, toilets, sinks, doors, furniture, kids toys, bikes and other sports equipment, kitchen items, garden tools and planter pots, some of them also have clothing and books too. Go have a rummage and keep them in mind if you have demolition waste removal or other building waste removal on the go . Junk Run regularly drops off items that have another opportunity at life to the Waitakere centre. Great for innovative birthday and Christmas gift ideas too.
Residential Waste Removal
Scratching your head wondering how to get rid of your old furniture, junk stored under the house, furniture – or maybe an old bed or sofa? Getting a new kitchen or spa pool installed? Or do you have a spare room or garage groaning at the seams with stuff you don’t need? Don’t have the lifting and carrying ability? No vehicle or time to drive your waste somewhere yourself – then you need to call us in. We can come and have a look at your junk to go and give you a quick quote for us to help you with your domestic waste removal headache. We load it up and take it away on the spot. The best thing is we sort your residential waste and anything with a chance at another gets delivered for free to charities, community groups, and needy families.
We have long term strategic partnerships in place (since 2005) with a variety of local charities, community groups and repurposer’s. We deliver to them several times a week so we know what they need and what they don’t, and we work respectfully with them and never leave items with them that they cannot use. You too can contact local charities to see if they would like any of your furniture. Some will come and have a pick through and take things if they think they can sell them. Be prepared for them to leave quite a few things behind. This will be because either the quality is not acceptable, or they are overrun with those particular things at the moment. That can still leave you with waste to be removed.
You can try listing old furniture for a $1 no reserve on Trade Me or via Facebook Markets or even Neighbourly if you have the time to manage enquiries and meet traders. If you live close to your local Community Resource Recovery Centre and you have the time and can lift, load and safely transport your items- you can try handling the home waste removal yourself and offer your “junk” to these places. You can click on our blog about inorganic waste in Auckland for more information. Often people try getting in a skip or flexi bin or flexi bag for their household waste removal. Whilst these can seem like cheap waste removal options initially , they come with hidden costs to you and the environment and you will be required to put in the hard labour work yourself. Read our blog on skip bins and flexi bins for more information.
Waste Removal for Commercial Businesses and Offices
Commercial Waste removal is often the very last component to be considered in an office move. The conversational focus is usually on the new office, new furniture, who is sitting with who, stand up desks, hot desks, open plan, pods, plants and cubicles. The old office equipment and office furniture rubbish removal can be quite a challenge for the project managers left to figure out how to get it out of the building in the most cost effective and sustainable manner.
We see many desperate people, left with this office furniture waste removal headache and next to nothing budget wise. The cheapest option may appear to be to hire skips. What most people never consider is the hours of human grunt work that is required to dismantle, lift, move and carry office furniture out of the building. This activity has to usually happen through small door ways, down stairs and lifts into these “cheap” skips. Tossed quickly in like pic-a-sticks – the capacity of the skip is never maximised so you have to hire way more skips that you think. Sprains, trips, cuts and bruises and other accidents are quite common as items have to be lifted up very high to go into a skip. The contents of these skips will also all end up in landfill. Once you add up the extra labour, management time and headaches it is usually much more expensive than first thought.
Most commercial office desking, drawer units, tambours, office shelves and credenzas are made of MDF. MDF cannot be recycled in NZ (regardless what other waste companies may tell you). It is made with glues and resin which is highly carcinogenic and there are no recycling plants in NZ that will touch it, due to the risk to health. It is also highly toxic in a landfill, as these chemicals leach out. Please consider alternatives if you are in charge of buying furniture for your office, there are some really cool plywood alternatives or seek second-hand items rather than fuelling the demand for new MDF products.
We work with charities, community groups, needy families and reputable second-hand office furniture dealers who will take most items from us. There are times though when there really is no other option for these items other than landfill, which breaks our heart, but we will be honest and upfront about this and in our reporting after completion of the job. We can handle all your electronic waste removal which will be stripped back to its smallest component to be responsibly recycled. If your e waste is still working, we will deliver it free to those that can use it.
If you are having a big office clear out and have waste to be removed, try offering items to other branches or sub offices, or offer to your staff first. Then see what you have left and make sure your accountant and CEO have signed off on a budget to enable you to do the “right thing” with your items. Then call us! Let us come and talk about what you have, how we can move it out for you and on to the right destinations. We can manage your waste removal project from end to end, dismantling, moving and delivering to their final destinations- with our own in house professional, experienced health and Safety certified team. We use our own resources – and we don’t subcontract to third party moving companies to do the work for us.
If your floor or office is being deconstructed to make way for bigger and better things, many demolition companies will quote to demolish everything including the furniture- which will all end up in landfill. Some will promise to support Pacific Island groups. That sounds marvellous at first, until you think about the fact that MDF swells when it gets moist and in very humid conditions – which is exactly the kind of weather in the Islands. It then breaks down very quickly. There is no organised certified landfills in Pacific Islands so broken, damaged, swollen MDF ends up being tipped into man made holes in the ground or worse, contaminating the water table and the ocean to continue giving off its toxic chemical cocktail. Furniture destined for our Pacific Island friends should be constructed of solid timber. A lot of the furniture coming out of NZ goes to second-hand traders in the Islands who on sell it for profits. They will take whatever is shipped up to them from NZ and dump what they cannot sell.
If you want to do the right thing with your office and commercial waste removal, ring us – we are fully licensed rubbish removal recognised for our expertise and commitment to protecting the environment .