It is reported that New Zealand only recycles 1/3 of the waste that is placed in council bin pickups and inorganic waste collections. Resulting in around 76% of material being send to landfill.

These statics show that New Zealand has a low recycling rate and the Ministry for the Environment is looking to change that.

In short form these are the three Proposals:

These include:

• A container return scheme that encourages people to return their empty beverage containers for recycling.
• Improvements to household kerbside recycling.
• Separation of food scraps from general waste for all businesses

All three proposals look promising to reduce waste and increase recycling of materials across New Zealand.

For more information and the full proposals go to https://environment.govt.nz/news/transforming-recycling/

Have your say on the proposals on their website here by 11.59pm on Sunday 22 of May 2022.

Source: https://environment.govt.nz/news/transforming-recycling/

If you are like most people in Auckland, you will be heading back to work and may not have time to remove and dispose of your used Christmas tree.

No need to worry, we have you covered, our guys can come, lift and load your dead christmas tree into our truck and take it away for you!

Get a quote:

Call us on 0800 386 763 or email us a photo of your Christmas tree and we will get back to you with an estimate quote. Please let us know the height of your tree so we can quote you more accurately.

Book a pick up:

Once you have accepted the estimate quote, let our team know you would like to book in. From there, they will book you in on the next available day.

Prepare for your pick up:

If you won’t be home during pick up, leave the tree outside near your front door where our team can easily access it. If you will be home, you won’t need to complete this step.

All trees need the tinsel, lights, ornaments, stands and decorations removed from the tree BEFORE pick up. If you would like the decoration removed as well, place them in a box next to the tree and let our staff know.

If you have any other rubbish or items that need to be removed, let our team know, as this is possible.

What happens to the old trees?

Once we have removed your tree, the trees will be mulched and used in gardens across Auckland.

Leaving your old Christmas tree in your house can cause dust build up and take up space. Contact us now for tree removal.

Can other rubbish be removed at the same time?

Yes, if you have other rubbish that needs to be removed at the same time, let our team know and they will quote you according to how much rubbish you need removed.

Finding a suitable, affordable home can be hard in New Zealand. On top of this, finding a rental home with the necessary appliances is also challenging. That\’s why donating dishwashers and cooktops to an organization that helps kiwi\’s in need of a home is wonderful. They will install these appliances into their affordable homes or donate these to families in need.

Different Kiwi housing organizations help kiwi\’s find affordable rental homes all over Auckland.

That’s why we were thrilled to hear that we were dropping the 6 dishwashers and 6 stoves to be used in their homing program.

With the help of one of their great staff, we were able to unload all the stoves and dishwashers safely.

We are so happy to have been part of the delivery and drop off of this whiteware and love working with other companies and organizations to help give back to our community.

If you would like to help in anyway please go to our \”How can you help\”page.

Kiwi Harvest works with a wide range of food businesses such as supermarkets, cafes, restaurants and hotels, to collect their extra good food that would have otherwise been sent to landfill, and kiwi harvest distributes it to over 242 charities across Auckland.

Kiwi Harvest has saved over 4811806 kilos of good food from going into landfill, all while delivering over 13748017 meals to people in need.

There mission is to prevent good food from going to waste and to help those in need throughout the community.

Yesterday, I got to see behind the scenes of the business and their passion for the job, when I dropped off the food donations from our staff and customers, to their warehouse.

When I arrived, I was met with a warm welcome by two team members, of which, one of them I had been corresponding with over email. They helped me unpack the food donations from the car and with social distancing and masks in place, they showed me the warehouse where they sorted and stored all the donated food.

We talked about the different businesses that donate food to them and what type of food they need that they are lacking in.

They informed me that basic food like flour, spaghetti and food cans were always needed and welcomed.

Kiwi Harvest were thrilled to receive our four bags of food and cans, and we are very happy that the food went to such a caring, passionate organization that makes a great difference in our community every day.

If you would like to donate some food cans to our food can drive during your pickup, let one of our friendly customer service team know over the phone during your quote.

If you would like to know more about Kiwi Harvest go to their website: https://kiwiharvest.org.nz/

Auckland council has recognized that there is a big problem when it comes to food waste and plans to introduce food scrap bins across Auckland by late 2021. This is because 45 per cent of rubbish in bins is food waste.

Areas like Takapuna, Northcote and Milford were the first areas in March 2018 to receive the new bins and the only areas that have received the food scrap bins so far. After four weeks, 70 tonnes where collected from Papakura and prevented from being dumped into landfill.

Residents are given a 6-litre kitchen caddy for food scraps to be placed and also a 23 litre bin that the kitchen caddy is emptied into too.  The 23 litre food scrap bins are picked up from the kerbside once a week and will be put into compost and fertilisers to provide nutrients for our soil.

There are restrictions when it comes to what you can and can’t put in the food scrap bin.

Items that belong in the food scrap bins include fruit, vegetables scraps (peeling, stalks, skin), bread, pasta, rice. Dairy products, meat and fish bones and scraps, egg shells, coffee grounds, tea bags, indoor cut flowers, paper towels and tissues.

Items that are not allowed in the food scrap bin include garden waste (weeds, lawn clippings, hedge trimmings), plastic bags, disposable food containers, cigarette butts, soil, rocks, clothes, cloth, food wrapping, nappies, sanitary products, pet waste and liquids or chemicals on any kind.

The goal of the new bins is to reduce food waste going to landfills, reduce emissions, connect people to nature, to encourage people to eat more left-over food and to restore our soil.

On top of this, people will benefit from less food scraps taking up room in their rubbish bins, meaning they will have more space in their bins and which should result in them saving money on bin collections because they should put their bins out less.

If you want more information about the scrap waste bins click here.

Food scrap bins are only offered by the Auckland Council, to get a food scrap bin go to the Auckland Council Website.

If you need general rubbish removed from your property please email us here or call us to get a quote.

Photo by OurAuckland