Tauranga celebrated four-weeks of the new rubbish, recycling and food scraps kerbside service last week.
Approximately 53% of household waste collected from kerbsides through the new service is being recycled or composted, that’s approximately 1034 tonnes being diverted from landfill.
From 1 – 28 July, Tauranga City Council has collected 280 tonnes of food scraps, 459 tonnes of recycling, 295 tonnes of glass and 907 tonnes of rubbish. This equates to 1,034 tonnes of waste recycled or composted compared to 907 tonnes of rubbish sent to landfill.
Sustainability and Waste Manager Sam Fellows says this is a great start to the new service.
“Tauranga residents should be really proud of what they’ve achieved already. We know this is a huge change for our community, so it’s been fantastic to see so many households get behind the new service. Sending less to landfill is better for our people and our environment.”
It will take time for some of our residents to get familiar with the new service and to change their habits. Our advice is for residents who are finding they don’t have enough space in their rubbish bins every fortnight, to look at what they are throwing away. More often than not, many items can be recycled or composted which frees up space in the rubbish bin.
The new food scraps bins are the biggest change for the community; and this is where residents can make the most impact, with 33% of households waste sent to landfill being food scraps in 2020.
“It’s great to see so many food scraps bins lined up each week ready for collection. It means we can give food scraps a new life as nutrient rich compost instead of sitting in a landfill,” says Sam.
Almost 10,000 households across Tauranga have signed up for the new optional garden waste service, with approximately 140 tonnes of garden waste being collected this month. In 2020, kerbside household waste audits showed 16% of household waste sent to landfill was garden waste. Residents can continue to sign up to this service via our website.
Tauranga City Council aims to halve what households send to landfill by 2028.
“Before the new kerbside service began, Tauranga sent 200kgs per capita to landfill per annum - that’s one of the worst rates in the country. Data from the first four weeks of the service shows that we’re on track to significantly reduce this amount,“ explains Sam.
Tips for using your food scraps bin
- To avoid food scraps sticking to the bottom of your bin make sure the inside is dry and line it with a paper bag, newspaper or paper towels.
- Remember to lock the lid of your food scraps bin by lifting the handle forward or up to keep the animals away and prevent spillage.
- You can freeze your food scraps until collection day to help with odour and help keep your bin clean.