Food and garden waste is collected weekly and is processed into certified organic compost. By putting the right stuff in the green bin, you’re making it possible for us to produce locally-made compost and reduce how much is sent to landfill.
Around 55,000 tonnes of kerbside organic material is processed per year at the Organics Processing Plant in Bromley. This food and garden waste is diverted from landfill, which saves everyone money.
Putting the right items in the green bin helps to produce organic compost. The compost is used on farms around Canterbury and beyond.
You can watch our video(external link) to learn more about what happens to your green bin material once it leaves your gate.
We accept all food waste, most garden waste and cardboard or paper with food on it.
Liquids can't go in any bin. Cooking oil can be dropped off at one of our EcoDrop Recycling Centres free of charge.
We can't accept cuttings from flax, cabbage trees or soil. Put these in the red bin or dispose of them at an EcoDrop for a fee.
We can only accept paper that is smaller than an envelope or shredded. We can only accept plain cardboard (not glossy) and please ensure all tape is removed
It has a handy lookup tool so you can find out what goes in each bin as well as reminders to take the bins out each week.
There are a lot of products out there labelled as biodegradable and/or compostable. These labels can be super-confusing as they all mean different things. We currently have no national standards for either biodegradability or composability in New Zealand. Without any clear standards, we are not able to accept any of these products in the kerbside green bin.
We produce organic certified compost from the contents of your green bin. This is then used by organic farms to produce food, helping to create a more circular economy. A lot of products that are currently labelled as biodegradable or compostable are not approved as organic so can’t go through our composting plant.
Instead of compostable plastic bags, why not wrap food scraps in old newspaper or use an unlined paper bag? For other products (like coffee cups) it is best to invest in a reusable alternative.