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A food waste collection service is on track to start in Warkworth in October.
Council has determined that the collection will only operate in areas that fall within a rural urban boundary, as determined by the Unitary Plan. Therefore, Snells Beach, Matakana, Leigh, Wellsford and all other parts of Mahurangi will not receive the service.
An Auckland Council spokesperson says that in feedback to the Waste Management and Minimisation Plan 2018, rural Aucklanders indicated that they did not require the service, as they could compost or feed to chickens/livestock.
The Warkworth households that receive the service will pay a pro rata charge that will be included in their 2023 rates bill. This is likely to be $51.47 for eight months.
The cost for a full financial year will be $77.20, as proposed in the 2023/24 budget.
Restaurants and commercial properties will not receive the service.
“Council is focused on residential households which already receive a recycling and rubbish service,” a spokesperson said.
Food scraps are collected weekly from households in small 23-litre bins. The scraps are consolidated in Papakura and then transported to Reporoa in trucks that are already coming from Taupo to Auckland and returning empty.
It is estimated Aucklanders send 100,000 tonnes of food scraps to landfill each year. Council predicts the service will divert 40,000 tonnes in the first full year of the service and expects that amount to continue to grow as more residents use the service.
