Why food scraps collection is starting
Food scraps are too valuable to waste and we are making it easy for households to keep them out of landfill.
When food scraps break down they produce harmful greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide and methane. These get into the atmosphere and contribute to global warming. However, in a food processing plant these gases can be captured and used in greenhouse facilities to grow food and generate electricity.
We have been collecting food scraps from residents in Papakura since 2018. Papakura households have diverted more than 500 trucks worth of food scraps from landfills since then.
For information on our current service areas, see
Food scraps collection for Papakura and selected streets in North Shore.
For information on the benefits of food scraps service, see
Food scraps collection rates charge.
How will food scraps be collected
Food scraps will be collected weekly by our trucks on your normal rubbish day.
Place your food scraps bin on the kerbside before 7am.
At this stage, the service will be available to residential properties in most of urban Auckland.
The service will be expanded as new urban developments come on board. We are exploring solutions for areas outside of the rural-urban boundary, Hauraki Gulf Islands and Auckland's city centre.
Restaurants and commercial properties will not be a part of the rollout. We are exploring how the service might be expanded in future.
How food scraps will be processed
Food scraps will be collected by our trucks and consolidated (or held) at a facility in Papakura. The scraps will then be trucked to
Ecogas food processing plant in Reporoa.
This plant is centrally located in the North Island and can process food scraps from other cities and commercial companies. Once fully operational, the plant will process 75,000 tonnes of organic material each year, including food scraps from Auckland and other councils.
The plant uses anaerobic digestion technology - a biological process that breaks down organic material in closed tanks without oxygen. This is the first time this technology will be used to process food scraps on a large scale in New Zealand.
The anaerobic digestion process does not release emissions from waste into the atmosphere. Food waste will be broken down into biogas (which will be converted into renewable energy) and nutrient liquid fertiliser.
Any contaminants (such as glass, metal or plastic) will be separated from the food scraps.
Food scraps facility to be monitored
We will be consolidating all food scraps collected across urban Auckland in a closed building in Papakura.
The building has been fitted with an odour filtration system that will be monitored continually. This will ensure odours from within the facility do not discharge into the atmosphere above resource consent limits.
