The Compost Collective
We’re helping Aucklanders with useful alternatives to sending food scraps to landfill. The Compost Collective teaches composting skills and connects people who have food scraps to give to those wanting more for their compost.
About half of what Auckland households send to landfill could be composted instead. It’s a real waste when food scraps go to landfill, because we lose those valuable nutrients forever.
Composting food scraps is part of the productive cycle that can instead improve our soil and help grow more food. This is a circular approach to restoring our whenua (land) and it’s what you’ll learn from The Compost Collective, completely free.
What you can learn
The Compost Collective hosts free composting workshops across the Auckland region. Learn about the three main home composting methods; composting bins, Bokashi and worm farms, and decide which one is right for you. Check the workshop calendar for a date that suits you.
Every Auckland household which completes a free workshop or an online quiz receives a discount on the composting system of their choice.
There are also many online resources available from The Compost Collective website, to help you get started with composting.
Share your waste
Got food scraps but no space or need for compost? Or are you a keen composter who wants more material for your system?
ShareWaste NZ, brought to you by The Compost Collective, is a free app connecting donors with food scraps to share with hosts who want these for their composts, backyard chickens or other farm animals.
Sign up for free at sharewaste.org.nz or download the free app by searching ‘ShareWaste NZ’ in your app store. Then you can find hosts or donors near you and keep your food scraps out of landfill.
Community composting hubs
Another option if you want to compost your food scraps but don’t have the space or need for it yourself is to use a nearby community composting hub.
These hubs accept food scraps from nearby residents to create compost that is used to nourish a community or teaching garden, or distributed back to the community helping create it.
EcoMatters is running a pilot community composting hub at its New Lynn organic teaching garden. To find out more about how to get involved, please email sarahDarcy@ecomatters.org.nz.
If you are looking at starting a community composting hub, or need assistance with one already going, take a look at the Compost Collective’s Community Composting Hub Fund.
Kia ora and THANKs to
EcoMatters and Kaipātiki Project work in partnership to deliver the Compost Collective. Thanks to Auckland Council.
COMMUNITY COMPOSTING RESOURCES
Find out more about how to get free support and tools to start your own community composting hub.
Here are some handy health and safety templates for community gardens using Bokashi bins, worm farms or cold composting. Download them to help keep you and your volunteers safe while composting. Remember to add your own site-specific hazards.