Food scraps will be collected from Whanganui households from July to stop huge amounts of green waste ending up in rubbish bins.
Audits have shown food scraps make up 30% of Whanganui waste bin contents.
Whanganui District Council chief executive David Langford said while that might not seem like a big deal, food scraps being sent to landfill were the single biggest cause of climate change emissions in the waste sector.
“In a landfill, food scraps can’t get enough oxygen to decompose properly. Instead, they rot slowly and release methane – a greenhouse gas that’s around 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide in terms of climate change.”
Sending food scraps to landfill was also a waste of valuable resources, as they could be converted into compost, renewable energy and fertiliser, he said.
“By diverting food waste from landfill and redirecting it to a modern organics processing facility, we can significantly reduce the impact food waste has on climate change while also creating sustainable energy for our farms, gardens and power grid,” Langford said.
A council survey last year found that fewer than 20% of Whanganui households are composting food scraps.
In December last year, the coalition Government cancelled four of five of the previous government’s plans for mandatory recycling and a kerbside food scraps composting scheme, but the Whanganui council says its decision to provide a food scraps service was not based solely on the proposed mandates.
Its Waste Management and Minimisation Plan – which was developed, consulted on and adopted before the previous government’s proposals – includes food scraps collection as a key action.
“Regardless of the central government, we know introducing this service is an important step to meet our waste minimisation targets and reduce climate change emissions.”
The weekly kerbside recycling collection introduced last July costs households about $2.75 per week via a target rate applied to their rates bill. Households cannot opt out.
The council is set to roll out a kerbside food scrap collection as the next step of its waste collection programme on July 1, funded by a targeted rate of about $1.50 per week.
A 12-week trial last year targeted 400 households in different areas of Whanganui, with 72% of feedback rating the service as either ‘very good’ or ‘good’.
The survey also showed that many people who were already composting supported food scrap collection because it could include food that isn’t usually compostable, such as meat and bones, onions and citrus.
Langford said tackling food waste wasn’t just about diverting scraps from landfill.
“It’s even more important to reduce food waste in the first place by ensuring we store food properly, cook meals that aren’t too big, and use fresh produce before it goes off.”
Households can choose not to use the service but cannot opt out.
All households in the kerbside service area will be subject to the targeted rate and will receive bins.
“Having an opt-in service would not be cost effective and would create financial barriers for some households to participate.
“This means it would be harder for Whanganui to achieve our goal of reducing climate change emissions and becoming a low-waste district.”
LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air
