The heart of Wanaka Wastebusters is the recycling centre on the corner of Ballantyne Rd and Riverbank Rd. Over 70,000 visitors visit us each year to recycle and browse in our huge second-hand shop and yard. We sell everything from designer clothes and furniture through to skis and garden equipment, and we also have a great rack of costumes to rent for theme parties.
Re-store shop
The shop has helped encourage a culture of re-use in Wanaka, which has no big chain stores. Often people take something home for a while and then bring it back to the recycling centre when they’ve finished using it. We love re-use, and we love making life in Wanaka just a little bit more affordable. And we love all the people who donate goods to us, because they keep the shop humming. Thanks!
Opening Hours
The recycling centre, shop and yard are open 9am-4pm, seven days a week (closed Christmas Day, Easter Friday and Anzac Day morning). All the profits from our community enterprise are put back into providing more services for our community. The recycling centre was started in 2000 by volunteers from our community.
Recycling Drop-off
We have a drop-off recycling facility in the yard which takes all the materials we pick up in kerbside recycling: cans, plastics 1 to 7, glass, cardboard and paper. You can also drop off polystyrene and stretchy plastic (PDE 4) at the recycling centre – talk to one of the Guardians in the yard about where to put it.
Computer Recycling
Yes! Wanaka Wastebusters can now accept computers and electronic waste for recycling all year round. There is a small charge of $5 to help cover costs. We are one of 20 depots round the country which will accept computers for recycling under the new Community Recycling Network project.
Take Back Schemes
Our take-back schemes all help to keep hazardous waste out of the landfill. Where possible, products are refurbished and re-used eg cell phones, ink cartridges and re-usable glass bottles. If re-use is not an option, the product is broken down and the components are recycled eg batteries and eco-bulbs. We also collect waste vegetable oil to be made into biodiesel (we run all our business trucks on biodiesel) and used engine oil to be used as fuel in the Holcim cement factory.
Metals Recycling
Anything with a high metal content can be recycled at Wanaka Wastebusters. That includes broken household appliances such as washers, dryers, ovens and dishwashers. We charge $10 per appliance to help cover costs. Unfortunately we can’t take fridges or freezers because of the high cost of degassing them responsibly.
Fin heaters, old engines and other random metal bits are also good for scrap metal. Talk to the guardians in the yard and they can point you in the right direction to drop them off.
