Thanks, Tauranga! Together we’ve turned over 5 million kilograms of food scraps into compost that’s been used to grow new food in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, and with your help, we’ve nearly halved* the amount of household waste going to landfills since launching our new kerbside collections.

What happens to my food scraps and garden waste?

Being picked up by the truck is just the start of the journey. Once collected, all food scraps and garden waste collected from the kerbside in Tauranga are composted in Waikato, to be used by farms and orchards across the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.

What happens to my recycling?

The vast majority of plastics collected (numbers 1, 2 and 5) are turned into new things like food containers, detergent bottles and products for the building industry – right here in New Zealand. Bottles and jars collected in our glass recycling bins are melted down to make new ones in Auckland. Paper, cardboard, tins, and cans are recycled into new paper, cardboard and metal products.

How can I help out our drivers?

Collection truck drivers are the unsung heroes of the service and residents can make their job easier by doing a few simple things. To help them out, make sure your bin lids can close and leave 30 centimetres between bins. Ensure bins are well clear of power poles, cars and letterboxes, and put smaller bins like food scraps and glass to the right when you’re facing the road, so they’re more easily seen.

How can I remember when to put out my bins?

If you download the Tauranga kerbside collections app from the App Store or Google Play, you can allow notifications that will remind you when to put out your bins.