Garden waste
Recent Ministry for the Environment research showed that a lot of people don’t understand the link between waste and carbon emissions. When organic waste (think garden waste, food scraps, and even wood) ends up in landfill, it generates huge amounts of greenhouse gases, which are a major contributor to climate change.
Organics in landfill
Putting green waste in your rubbish bag or rubbish wheelie bin sends it straight to landfill where the lack of oxygen means it will not compost naturally.
We opened up Waipā rubbish bags and wheelie bins and found that 8 percent of all our kerbside rubbish was garden waste. That means all of the houses in Waipā would create 1.7 tonnes of garden waste heading off to a landfill each week. That’s a lot of organic of goodness (in addition to 3.6kg per household of food waste!) that we could do better with at home by composting, worm farming or using a bokashi system.
Street harvest
Street Harvest is a grassroots project turning roadside berms and shared spaces into thriving edible gardens with in-ground worm farms.
Local households and neighbourhoods can then enjoy shared crops. These include spinach, broccolini, herbs and more. They can also turn their kitchen food scraps into a resource instead of sending them to the landfill.
Street Harvest has established three sites around Cambridge, with more on the way. This project came to life with the support of the Waste Minimisation Community Fund in 2023 and 2024, in addition to assistance from local businesses.
They have developed a guide to help others set up their gardens. You can also find top tips, learnings, and tools based on what has worked for them.
Composting at home
Composting is nature's way of recycling. There is some food waste we can’t avoid – like avocado or banana skins – so this is an issue we all deal with.
Composting, worm farming or bokashi systems are great ways to deal with food and garden waste at home. You’ll also be creating a rich and nutritious organic material to improve your garden.
If composting isn’t your thing, join Sharewaste which connects people who wish to recycle their food scraps and other organics with their neighbours who are already composting, worm-farming or have farm animals.
Benefits of composting and worm farming:
- Quick and easy to deal with your food and garden waste
- Lightens your rubbish bag – big money saver!
- Creates natural fertiliser for free
- Stops methane gas production by taking out your food from landfill
Keen to learn more and get started on your journey? Download our helpful guides below.
Composting in action
Tori and her family live in Cambridge. After their son was born, they became conscious of how much of their household waste was going to landfill.
As well as other sustainable practices, they've built a DIY compost bin, kept healthy with a mix of green and brown materials.