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In addition to households, Sustainable Kaipara is also taking compostable waste from three businesses.
A kerbside collection trial, aimed at diverting food waste from landfill, started in Mangawhai last week.
Sustainable Kaipara is looking for around 50 households in Mangawhai to join the six-month trial.
Households put food waste in kerbside bins with compostable liners and it is collected each week by Sustainable Kaipara for composting.
Project lead Stephanie Gibson says their audits show that between 30 and 50 per cent of household waste sent to landfill is food waste.
“Food waste breaks down in a landfall and releases harmful methane into the atmosphere,” she says.
The service costs $4 a week, but Stephanie believes that will be counter-balanced by money saved on general waste rubbish bags no longer filled with food waste.
Sustainable Kaipara received funding from the Ministry for the Environment for the trial.
The food waste is composted in three 1700 litre bins located at the Mangawhai Domain.
“They can take up to 150kgs a week as long as they are well-managed. That’s nearly eight tonnes a year.”
Stephanie says the compost is currently being used on the Mangawhai Community Garden, but says it may be sold in future to keep the project going.
The success of the project depends on whether enough households sign up for the six-month period.
So far, 41 households have expressed interest.
Ultimately, it is hoped that the programme will be rolled out to the rest of Kaipara.
Sustainable Kaipara has also launched its ‘closing the loop’ project offering waste minimisation services to schools, business and events.
Info: www.sustainablekaipara.org/project/the-compost-project
