Hamilton’s new kerbside rubbish and recycling service is more than nine weeks old and we’re already starting to reap the benefits of our city’s biggest service change in 20 years.

Since the switch from black bags to bins, Hamiltonians have been challenged to think before they throw with the new mixed recycling, glass recycling and food scraps services which encourages residents to separate their waste before it hits the kerb.

Councillor Angela O’Leary, Chair of the Infrastructure Operations Committee says the new food scraps service has already helped to put a reasonable dent in our 10-year waste minimisation goal to divert 150 million kilograms of waste away from landfill.

“So far, we’ve diverted more than 1 million kilograms of food scraps from going to landfill, with the average household contributing nearly two kgs each week over the first nine weeks. If you compare the figures to something relatable (like the weight of animals at Hamilton Zoo), all up we’re diverting nearly the equivalent of ten white rhinoceros (approximately 2300 kgs each) of food scraps every day.

“This is an encouraging milestone to achieve so early on and can be put down to the impressive response from Hamiltonians getting on board with the new service and embracing the challenge” said Councillor O’Leary.

The question for many though is, if it’s not going to landfill, where is it going?

This is something Hamilton City Council’s Rubbish and Recycling Transitional Manager Trent Fowles takes pride in answering as we draw closer to another key milestone.

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“One of the cool things about the food scraps service is what happens to it once it leaves the kerb. The food scraps trucks you see driving the streets all end up at the Hamilton Refuse Transfer Station on Lincoln Street where the contents are transferred to a larger truck and transported to Hampton Downs.

“Once at Hampton Downs, your food scraps begin the 10-week cycle of being transformed into compost which is then on sold. A portion of this compost (or Tronpost as we’re calling it here at Council) is then returned to Council at zero cost to be reused in our parks and gardens. We’re now closing in on the first cycle of this awesome, highly sustainable initiative and we can’t wait to see the final product in use” said Fowles.

The team hope to have the first sample of Tronpost ready in time for Council’s next Your Neighbourhood event at Steele Park in Hamilton East on Sunday 15 November.

Although we’re in the early days of the new service and we’re still ironing out some of the kinks, Fowles couldn’t be happier with the initial response from our community and insists every little bit helps to drive us towards our overall goal of making Hamilton a place where waste minimisation and resource recovery are an integral part of our lifestyle and economy.

For more information about the new service visit fightthelandfill.co.nz. You can also download the free mobile app Antenno for collection day notifications.

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