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About one third of the waste going to landfill from urban collections in our district is food scraps.
Composting is part of the solution – reducing the amount of waste you’re disposing of, which can then be processed into compost.
In 2025 Council ran a five-month food scraps collection and composting trial for selected households on Queen Street East and West, and Weraroa Road, in Levin.
About the trial
The trial was paid for by a $25,000 grant from the Government’s Waste Levy fund.
Participants were given a small collection bin for food scraps which was picked up every week and taken to a company in Foxton to be processed into compost.
Compost was then made available to schools in the district that are enrolled in the Enviroschools program.
Results
Over the five months of the trial an average 358kg of food scraps were picked up per week– which means almost 8.6 tonnes of food scraps were diverted from landfill and made into compost.
We encourage everyone to recycle their food scraps if possible – you can find more information on ourFood Waste Minimisation page.
Council has yet to decide whether to introduce food scraps recycling in urban areas, now the trial has ended. Watch this space!
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