Transfer and recycling stations
In South Wairarapa, there is one transfer station located in Martinborough and three recycling stations, in Featherston, Greytown, and Pirinoa.
General refuse can only be dropped off at the Martinborough Transfer Station. All four sites accept recycling, green waste, and electronic waste (e-waste).
Dropping off general recycling is free, but there are charges to process refuse, green waste and e-waste. Find these details, and what is and isn’t accepted at these sites, below.
Martinborough Transfer Station
The Martinborough Transfer Station is located on Lake Ferry Road, 1.8km southwest of Martinborough.
| Open | From | To |
| Wednesday | 10am | 4pm |
| Saturday | 10am | 4pm |
| Sunday | 10am | 4pm |
What is accepted at the Martinborough Transfer Station?
- Refuse (see charges below)
- General household recycling
- Green waste (see charges below)
- E-waste (see charges below)
- Look for the designated e-waste area
- Appliances like washing machines and fridges are classified as scrap metal and can be disposed of for free
- Soft plastics
- Pop your clean, dry soft plastics into the soft plastics bin
- Soft plastics include bread and fresh produce bags, toilet paper and cereal packaging, courier packs, biscuit and chip packets, bubble wrap, garden potting mix and dry pet food bags – basically, anything that can be scrunched into a ball
- Battery recycling
- Look for the battery recycling bucket
- Place masking tape over the tops of lithium and lead acid batteries
- Damaged batteries are not accepted
- Car bodies (see charges below)
- Tyres – maximum of five (see charges below)
- Agricultural recycling (from 1pm to 3pm on the third Wednesday of each month)
- Polystyrene – limited quantities of domestic polystyrene are accepted under specific conditions:
- It must be securely enclosed in a bag and tightly tied. Loose polystyrene will not be accepted.
- It must be contained within a bag, other receptacles will not be accepted.
- Should the bag rupture during transfer to the designated area, it is the responsibility of the individual disposing of the polystyrene to ensure proper re-securing.
- No commercial polystyrene is accepted.
What is not accepted at the Martinborough Transfer Station?
- Hazardous chemicals or waste
- Asbestos
- Fluorescent light bulbs (accepted at Silverstream Landfill or Mitre 10)
- Contaminated soil (accepted at Silverstream Landfill)
- Lithium-ion rechargeable batteries, discarded emergency flares, and hot ashes, due to fire risks
- Commercial polystyrene
- Damaged batteries
- The following plant matter will not be accepted as green waste, but can be disposed of as general refuse:
- Bamboo, cabbage tree leaves, flax, ginger root, palm tree fronds and pampas grass
- These plants are not compostable, due to their fibrous and waxy nature, which means they can’t be chopped up in machines and processed.
Recycling stations
The recycling stations accept general household recycling, green waste, e-waste, clean soft plastics, and undamaged batteries.
Featherston Recycling Station
Located at 60 Johnston Street, Featherston
| Open | From | to |
| Thursday | 11am | 3pm |
| Saturday | 11am | 3pm |
| Sunday | 11am | 3pm |
Greytown Recycling Station
Located at 32 Cotter Street, Greytown
| Open | From | To |
| Tuesday | 1pm | 3.30pm |
| Saturday | 10am | 12pm |
| Sunday | 10am | 1pm |
Pirinoa Recycling Station
Located at 3031 Lake Ferry Road (opposite Warren’s Road), Featherston
| Open | From | To |
| Wednesday | 1pm | 3pm |
| Saturday | 10am | 12pm |
| Sunday (May to August) | 3pm | 5pm |
| Sunday (September to April) | 4pm | 6pm |
Charges (1 July 2025 – 30 June 2026)
Refuse (Martinborough only)
| Type of refuse | Limits and quantities | $ including GST |
| Dropping of official Council refuse bags | No charge | |
| All other refuse | Up to 30kg | $13 |
| General refuse | Per tonne excl GST | $350 |
| Clean fill (weighed) | Per tonne | $23 |
Green waste
| Receptacle | Limits and quantities | $ including GST |
| Car boot/fadge | $7.70 | |
| Van/trailer | $18 | |
| Large trailer/small truck | $33 | |
| Large truck (Martinborough only) – weigh in, weigh out, min $26 per load | Up to 6 tonne | $81.60 per tonne |
| Larger loads at discretion of Council’s recycling operator |
Electronic waste
| E-waste item size | Accepted items | $ including GST |
| Small items | Mobile phones, cameras | No charge |
| Medium items | Keyboards, docking stations, modems, stereos, gaming consoles | $5 |
| Larger items | TVs, computer monitors, printers, fax machines, microwaves | $20 |
| Very large items | Photocopiers | $50 |
Car bodies (Martinborough only)
| Item | Limits and quantities | $ including GST |
| Car bodies (stripped) | $48.80 | |
| Car and 4WD tyres | Up to five tyres on rims – cost per tyre | $6.70 |