Trash Palace Recycling Centre
This page describes the operation of the award-winning Trash Palace, the Recycling and Education Centre in Porirua operated by Mana Recovery. They won the "Green Gold" award at the Wellington Business Awards for 2012.
Trash Palace Opening Hours
Monday-Saturday: 8.30 am -5 pm
Sundays and Public Holidays: 9 am -5 pm
Drop-off Closed: Christmas Day only.
Shop Closed: Christmas Day, Good Friday, Easter Sunday.
Anzac Day: Shop opens at 1pm
What you can do at Trash Palace?
At Trash Palace, you can:
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drop off used household goods
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Note, a $20 charge applies for "tube" TVs and computer screens with CRTs (cathode ray tubes)
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buy second hand goods from the shop
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recycle paper, glass, plastic, metal
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learn about sustainable urban living
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see the eco-buildings or permaculture garden at work
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find out about recycled polystyrene housing insulation
Trash Palace supports Zero Waste goal
Porirua City Council adopted the goal of Zero Waste to landfill in the year 2000. Trash Palace was set up support this goal and to create sustainable employment opportunities for people with mental health issues through Mana Recovery. Mana Recovery is a non-profit, community organisation that provides focused work rehabilitation and training to users of mental health services who live in the Porirua area. To find out more, visit the Trash Palace website.
Trash Palace Resource Recovery Centre
Many items that would otherwise be dumped at the Spicer Landfill in Porirua can instead be dropped off at Trash Palace and reused, recycled or resold as second hand goods.
Trash Palace is open to all members of the public to drop off:
- Household Goods, Building Materials, Furniture, Empty Whiteware, Bric-a-Brac, Bikes and Sports Equipment, Electrical Goods and Appliances (working or not), Timber (not firewood), Scrap Metal, Reusable Paint, Cardboard, Paper, Selected Glass, Aluminium, Plastics, Clothing, Fibres.
Trash Palace also offers a free home collection service to Porirua City residents.
Over 2,700 people visit the Trash Palace Shop every month, where a wide range of second hand goods are sold at bargain prices: Crockery and Utensils, Picture Frames and Mirrors, Windows and Doors, Fixtures and Fittings, Electrical Appliances, Baths, Vanities, Sinks, Taps, Books, Toys and Clothing, Bikes, Skis, Sports Equipment, Office Desks and Chairs, Paint and Paintings, Furniture and Carpet, Computers, Lounge Suites and a variety of native New Zealand plants.
Trash Palace Education Programme
Trash Palace Education offers a Recycling Education Programme specifically for schools and children. The teaching focuses on the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle, and the three key concepts of environmental education: sustainability, personal and social responsibility and interdependence.
A typical day schedule involves:
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A guided tour of Trash Palace
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Recycling discussions
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A choice of activity (covering arts, social studies or science curriculum links)
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A follow up visit to your school
Limited funded places in the Education Programme are available to Porirua schools. The Programme is available to schools outside the Porirua area (subject to availability) but fees will apply.
Trash Palace Environment
The Trash Palace buildings (designed by Wellington based architects Melling:Morse) use sustainable and recycled building materials and energy systems to help reduce harmful environmental impacts:
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The roofing and cladding is made of a low maintenance, low impact material of organic fibres and bitumen made from recycled oil.
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The wooden structure is largely untreated Macrocarpa, a sustainable New Zealand timber that does not need oiling or painting.
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Almost all the windows and doors are reused and most of the fittings are recycled
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The main flooring in the Education Centre is made largely out of recycled materials.
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Passive solar design is incorporated into the Education Centre and Solar Panels supply hot water to the Centre.
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Rainwater is collected in a water tank and reused to flush toilets, or for outside washing and landscaping.
There is a Permaculture Garden at Trash Palace that works in harmony with nature and uses recycled materials. Worm composting is in operation and two 'water recycling' ponds flow down into Spicer Botanic Park to help clean the stormwater runoff from Trash Palace.
There are also plenty of artworks around Trash Palace, all made from recycled materials.
Poly Palace
Poly Palace is an independent business at Trash Palace that produces and sells high quality underfloor building insulation made from recycled polystyrene.
Waste polystyrene is a big problem when it is landfilled because it takes up a lot of space, weighs very little and takes a long time to break down. By choosing to insulate your floor using Poly Palace insulation, you not only keep the warmth in and the climate out of your home, you also divert waste polystyrene out of our landfills and help the environment.
Contact Us
Phone: (04) 237 6440
email: info@trashpalace.co.nz
website: http://www.trashpalace.co.nz
Inside the Spicer Landfill gates, at the end of Broken Hill Road, Porirua City.
Location Map: