"This is like the loudest noise possible at 4am and to make things better, his truck is idling loudly with a completely unnecessary orange disco light swirling around," the man said.
"The whole thing is a debacle."
Standing outside on the deck in his undies, he asked the collector to stop, but he ignored him.
"So I go into the kitchen and all I can find to throw at him are onions and shallots.
"So I decide on an arsenal of shallots and I go back out and he is still there clinking and smashing away."
At this point a crowd of neighbours had gathered as he began to pepper the rubbish collector with "medium shallots".
None of this deterred the man, who proceeded to dump the thousands of bottles into the truck.
"I am so mad I've gone back and got the biggest onion and I let rip at the truck – bullseye onion splatter all across the back.
"These guys don't seem to care about making noise early in the morning or being missiled by large onions. I guess a thick skin goes with the job."
A reader living in Epsom said there were rubbish truck collections three times a week at a nearby rest home at about 4.15am.
"I understand that the traffic is less congested in the earlier hours so preferable for efficient collections, however people residing in residential areas should not be penalised and maybe early evening collections are possible."
A man living on Mt Albert Rd said they heard rubbish trucks picking up and emptying bins through the night at a business nearby.
"It was very loud, sleep-disturbing."
Adding to the noise was a housing complex being built down the road, which had concrete trucks delivering through the night.
"There had to be at least 30 trips in and out and the noise was continuous."
He was not sure if the builders had a permit to do the work, but if they did they had not informed any of the people in the area.
"This is totally unacceptable and no consideration has been given to local residents."
Another reader in a new residential subdivision said noisy concrete pours were beginning on new builds nearby as early as 5.30am.
Auckland Council spokesman Steve Pearce said rubbish collections from private commercial sites close to residential boundaries could not make noise before 7am and after 10pm Monday to Saturday, and 9am to 6pm on Sundays and public holidays.
"Basically, you shouldn't be making as much noise as a rubbish truck makes, during the night, but between 7am and 10pm you can make as much noise as you like," Pearce said.
"The council understands the increasing pressure placed on rubbish/recycling contractors to undertake these collections before early morning traffic increases, but we need to endeavour to find a balance between the needs of business and the needs of the residents of Auckland."
When the council received complaints it would work with businesses to try to resolve the issue, and if needed that would ramp up towards prosecution, he said.
If anyone had a truck regularly picking up rubbish and waking them up early in the morning or late at night, they could call the council and it would be investigated, he said.
"Our message to commercial waste collectors and business owners situated close to residential boundaries is to be considerate to the residents and do not collect before 7am."
