By WAYNE THOMPSON
Waste from West Auckland gardens will be turned into valuable topsoil under a deal struck by the Waitakere City Council.
About 7500 tonnes of material thrown out by West Auckland gardeners each year will be processed at a new composting plant at The Concourse, Lincoln.
That amount is expected to rise under the council's policy to reduce the amount of waste it sends to landfills by 40 per cent over the next two years.
Early next year, the council aims to add kitchen and food waste to compost material.
The chairman of the council's works and services committee, Allen Davies, said the contract with Perry Waste Services would save the council having to pay "thousands of dollars a year" to have green waste disposed of.
Perry's manager, Peter Higgs, said the company's winning of a tender for a 15-year contract encouraged it to invest $2 million in plant. It would be the first time the vertical composting plant operated commercially in New Zealand.
Seventeen other councils are interested in the plant.
Under the deal, Perry takes over $400,000 in tip fees from the council, which has allowed it to just meet operating costs.
Mr Higgs said there was demand for the product as general compost and for making topsoil and golf greens.
Waitakere Mayor Bob Harvey said the contract was a milestone towards achieving the "Eco-city" principles of sustainability.
He said the council had resumed its leadership of the region for recycling and reuse of waste.
It had put behind it the failure of the 1998 EcoPlan recycling venture.
Waitakere Council in waste deal
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