What a load of shovelling: 6000 litres of Tronpost collected in BYO Bucket pilot

Workers at the Wickham St Organic Centre in Hamilton did all the hard work for people collecting free garden goodness. Photo / Hamilton City Council

Hamiltonians arrived in droves for Hamilton City Council’s offer to collect 20 litres of free Tronpost from the Wickham St Organic Centre this month.

More than 300 vehicles came through the gates, with drivers and passengers bringing their own buckets to fill with Tronpost - a compost-like product, made by Hamiltonians from green waste and kerbside food scraps.

The giveaway was so popular that the council announced it will make BYO Bucket an annual event after Labour Weekend.

The compost - or Tronpost as it has been named - is made from food scraps and is high in garden nutrients. It provides a great boost for gardens, especially after the cooler winter months.

Between 8am and noon on Saturday, November 5, the council gave away more than 6000 litres of Tronpost along with 150 ferns for people to add to their gardens.

The council’s resource recovery delivery manager, Trent Fowles, said the atmosphere was buzzing and everyone was happy to receive their free Tronpost.

“People at the event were keen to share with us how useful they find their food scraps bin, and how they love using it to help fight the landfill.

“Our award-winning kerbside service allows for the separation of food scraps at the source and keeps it out of the landfill.”

Fowles said people turned up with spades and gloves, ready to dig in and collect their own Tronpost, but were pleased to see staff were going to do all the hard work for them.

“We had a steady stream of vehicles, but low wait times, which people appreciated. Our team on-site were quite tired by the end of the busy morning.”