Garden and food waste
Introduction |
Create a low-waste garden |
Create your own compost | Worm
farming | Bokashi composting |
Other options
Other options
If you are too busy to compost, or don't have room for composting bins you can try the alternatives below:
Garden rubbish collection service
Garden waste bin
There are several private companies
that offer a garden rubbish collection service. Visit the Yellow pages website
(www.yellowpages.co.nz) and search on
'Garden bags and bins' and 'Auckland region'.
If you kept your green 240-litre green-lidded wheelie bin when Auckland City
Council introduced
the 120-litre red-lidded wheelie bins, but
haven't used it, shop around. Having your own bin should enable you to get a better deal. If you don't have a bin, your collector will provide
you with either a bin or bag.
Note: under Auckland City Council's bylaw, the 240-litre bins are only for garden waste. The bylaw describes garden waste as any organic material which results from domestic gardening activities and includes vegetative material
but not tree trunks or limbs larger than 100mm in diameter. It does not include:
- animal products (eg manure, feathers, carcasses)
- hazardous substances
- treated timber
- food scraps
- soil, other than soil attached to plants.
Mulching and grass cycling
Recycle your grass clippings by leaving them on the lawn after mowing to return vital nutrients to the soil. This retains moisture, reduces
the number of times you mow and the time it takes to mow. Remember to only cut the top third of the grass each time and consider replanting
sections of your lawn with slow growing native ground covers.
Transfer stations
Transfer stations take bags of grass clippings as well as car-boot and trailer loads of garden prunings. Your garden waste will be recycled into
compost if you ensure it is separated from other rubbish. It is also cheaper to dispose of it this way.
Contact the transfer stations directly for prices and opening hours.
Reviewed - March 2007.
