The Council recently wrote to some ratepayers asking them to take part in the recycling trial and is now working to start the Kitchen Organics Recycling scheme.

Kitchen organics include food scraps, fruit and vegetable trimmings, bones and leftovers.

The Council is looking at this part of the waste stream because it makes up about half of what people put into their rubbish bags. In surveys done by the Council, residents have said they are interested in a kerbside collection of kitchen scraps but many also said it is difficult to compost their kitchen organics at home.

Because these materials can easily be turned into useful compost, the Council thinks collecting and composting this material is the biggest step the City can take to reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill.

Households which have volunteered to take part in the two-month trial get a special bin and instructions about what can be put into it. They will put their organics recycling container out on their normal rubbish collection day with their black bags and green recycling crates.

At the end of the trial the Council will ask those who took part what they thought of the service.

With the kitchen organics service, the City Council is looking toward a more sustainable future, says Christchurch Mayor Garry Moore.

“We want Christchurch citizens to have the best possible combination of services and to minimise the City’s impact on the environment,” he says. “Organic matter is the largest part of the Christchurch waste stream. It is largely responsible for the greenhouse gases produced from the landfill and organic matter can readily be made into useful compost.”

If you have any questions about organic recycling, call us on 941 1830 or see our website, www.ccc.govt.nz/waste