It makes sense because this waste-stream represents about half of the total stuff we throw away; it's waste that's harmful to the environment when it's landfilled, and when it's composted it has real economic value for farmers, market gardeners and commercial growers by improving soil productivity and reducing their reliance on chemical fertilisers.
Christchurch is just one city that has left Auckland in the dust in this regard. For several years, Christchurch City Council has been collecting from residents' kerbsides their separated organic waste - food scraps and garden waste - in a green bin, totalling about 60,000 tonnes of material a year. The compost has been used by Fonterra dairy farmers, Waipara vintners and landscapers around Canterbury.
Other cities around the world have been doing this for ages. Across Europe and Australia, it's commonplace. New York City is trialling a system of collecting food waste at the kerbside. The Nordic countries are predictably miles ahead in this area, while the Swiss have turned their food and green waste to "Kompost" for around two decades already.
For Auckland, organic waste makes up about 50 per cent of our landfill waste, so it's the obvious target for the city if it is going to reduce landfill volumes. It's the stuff that belches methane into the atmosphere when it rots, so last year's decision by the council to collect organic waste separately from every urban household was timely.
The council's decision comes as central government is becoming increasingly active about waste reduction. A wasteful, throw-away society makes bad economic sense and sends negative messages about our environmental performance.
One example is the Government's successful television take-back scheme which has resulted in thousands of analogue televisions being gathered and their parts recycled in preparation for the national roll-out of digital broadcasting.
The Government's waste strategy, designed to help councils draft meaningful waste minimisation plans, prioritises waste streams which are harmful to the environment including agricultural chemicals, tyres and organic waste.
Before amalgamation, Auckland's five councils all had different rules about waste reduction and handling. Now the Super City is able to implement an integrated waste minimisation plan for all waste collection.
At its heart Auckland's new plan contains a fairer concept of user-pays - the more you throw away, the more you'll pay.
Not only is it a way of focusing people on sending less reusable waste to landfills, it also aims to make the scheme fiscally neutral. (Using pricing indicators to change behaviour, like a carbon charge or a congestion levy, makes more sense than taxing things likes savings!)
Auckland's new rubbish collecting scheme will begin in July 2015. Research shows that most city residents want to do the right thing and create less waste. But it needs to be convenient.
Increasingly, people also realise that if they're reducing waste, they're also reducing cost. Not a bad incentive.
• Rob Fenwick is chairman of the Government's Waste Advisory Board and co-founder Living Earth.
