Beginning in 2020, we ran a 6-month trial, collecting food scraps from households and businesses in Mangawhai to feed our community compost. The roadside pickup ran weekly, and our compost bins – located at our local community garden – were filled with a layer of organic waste from the collection, and some nutrient rich carbon layers to get things going.
Over 6 months, we managed to divert an estimated 3,415kgs of food waste from landfill and made piles of lush compost – much of which has gone to the Mangawhai Community garden. Additionally, we were able to sell bags of our nutrient rich compost!
The trial has been so successful, we are now offering the service permanently, and will start investigating how to roll it out further throughout the Kaipara. Watch this space!!