Hamilton offering residents some of their food scraps back - as free compost

Hamilton Mayor Paula Southgate and representatives of the community group Progress to Health get stuck into a truckload of Tronpost for use at Fairfield's Caro Park in July. Photo / Supplied

Up to 170,000 Hamiltonians could help your garden thrive this summer with a Tronpost nutrient blast.

When you use your food waste bin, you are helping make Tronpost – that's compost, made locally by Hamiltonians from a mix of green waste and kerbside food scraps. Tronpost is the final product of a 10-to-12-week process in which Hamilton's food scraps from kerbside collection bins are sent to Hampton Downs, where they are mixed with green waste.

The city council says during September, Hamiltonians prevented 320,000kg of food waste from going to landfill by using their food scraps bins. As a thank you, Hamilton City Council wants to give some of the city's food scraps back, free, as a nutrient blast for your garden during spring.

From 9am to noon on Saturday, November 5, you can bring any bin, bucket, box or container, up to 20 litres in volume, to the Wickham St Hamilton Organic Centre and they will fill it with free Tronpost, while stocks last.

"Food waste is high in nutrients," said Hamilton City Council resource recovery delivery manager Trent Fowles.
"After a wet winter, it will be really helpful to boost those spring vegetables and flower beds to get them growing and keep the worms happy.

"The Hamilton Council City Council resource recovery team is a pretty passionate lot when it comes to reducing what we send to landfill – so rather than filling a plastic bag, or introducing more plastic containers into the environment, we want to encourage reuse. That's why we are making this a BYO event – you bring the container, and we fill it.

"Just make sure whatever container you bring in, is no bigger than 20 litres. We want to try and make sure everyone who turns up for their free compost can get it, while the stock lasts."

Food waste in landfill is a major contributor to climate change. While it's high in value when it's able to be composted properly, its value is lost in landfill and becomes toxic. It decomposes without oxygen and releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.

"If food waste was a country, it would be third behind the United States and China in emissions," said Fowles.

"We see lots of food waste in Hamilton's kerbside red bins – and even in our yellow recycling bins. It's such a waste when we have bins specially designed for your food waste."

Fowles said as the weather warms up, the food waste bins can get a bit stinky, so people don't use them as often. He said by freezing food waste until collection day, keeping the bin in the shade and the handle in the upright locked position, you can minimise smells.

"If bugs are more of an issue, a bit of citronella oil or fresh thyme in the bin can help keep the flies out."

Let's do everything we can to keep food out of the landfill – if we do it together, we can make a huge impact.

Find out more information here on the council's waste minimisation efforts, including Tronpost and the Hamilton Organic Centre.