Auckland's food scrap bins

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#3220121 19-Apr-2024 07:13

We only use ours for bones and fibrous things that cant go down the waste disposal easily.

Watercare in Mangere do exactly the same process as they do in the plant just out of Taupo and use the gas to create electricity to help run the water plant.

A couple of months ago there was a guy from watercare on Newstalk ZB saying it is better to go down the waste disposal as there was less carbon miles.

As a side note, the compost going to the plant is a back haul for a trucking company, they are not going there and coming back empty so at least that is something.

I know enough to be dangerous

johno1234

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#3220173 19-Apr-2024 07:44

We've stopped using ours and all grindable waste goes to Watercare via Mr Insinkerator. I trust them to deal with it appropriately but I have no idea how efficient and green the scrap bin system is in reality.

We like to keep the kitchen bench clear to look spic and span as it's an open plan living area a bin of food waste just doesn't fit. It can smell and attract insects too. Stooping down to get it in and out of a cupboard every time I want to scrape a plate is way too inconvenient. Those pink compostable liners cost money and attract their own packaging and supplychain overhead and as a family of five we'd go through several a week.

Would be interested to know the uptake of this system is now and what is required to make it sustainable.

mudguard

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#3220176 19-Apr-2024 08:19

johno1234: We've stopped using ours and all grindable waste goes to Watercare via Mr Insinkerator. I trust them to deal with it appropriately but I have no idea how efficient and green the scrap bin system is in reality.

We like to keep the kitchen bench clear to look spic and span as it's an open plan living area a bin of food waste just doesn't fit. It can smell and attract insects too. Stooping down to get it in and out of a cupboard every time I want to scrape a plate is way too inconvenient.

To be fair most of our waste comes from dinner prep, not usually anything left to scrap. Most of the time I still peel etc at the insinkerator basin, then scoop it up to put in the bin. Which is under our sink anyway beside the rubbish bin.

As I said, I fully didn't expect to use it, but we've gone from using the waste disposal a couple of times a day to a couple of times a week.

But if we were a bigger household and continually filling the wee bags I might think differently.

Canuckabroad

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#3220181 19-Apr-2024 08:33

I wouldn't bother using the pink bags, even if I were making frequent use of the scrap bin. While they might be biodegradable themselves, it's easier (for me) to just put them straight into the plastic and give it a quick rinse and let it dry. Obviously because they went through the effort of making those bags and trying to give them a distinctive colour, they think it'll be important for a lot of people though.

alisam

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#3220195 19-Apr-2024 09:56

mudguard:

To be fair most of our waste comes from dinner prep, not usually anything left to scrap. Most of the time I still peel etc at the insinkerator basin, then scoop it up to put in the bin. Which is under our sink anyway beside the rubbish bin.

As I said, I fully didn't expect to use it, but we've gone from using the waste disposal a couple of times a day to a couple of times a week.

But if we were a bigger household and continually filling the wee bags I might think differently.

We are a household of 2 and now use the bin weekly. I use a single sheet of kitchen roll and (peel, cut etc.) put all the vegetable waste onto it and then just fold up the paper and put it in the bin (which has an appropriate bag in it).

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#3220215 19-Apr-2024 10:33

You can also fit a doz beers and ice in it. it has found it's new home as a beer tote

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#3220217 19-Apr-2024 10:38

Canuckabroad:

I wouldn't bother using the pink bags, even if I were making frequent use of the scrap bin. While they might be biodegradable themselves, it's easier (for me) to just put them straight into the plastic and give it a quick rinse and let it dry. Obviously because they went through the effort of making those bags and trying to give them a distinctive colour, they think it'll be important for a lot of people though.

I gave up on the pink bags - cant open them and just end up pulling them to pieces.

Richard rich.ms

cddt

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#3220233 19-Apr-2024 11:26

Despite my initial skepticism the bins are working well here.

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neb

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#3220245 19-Apr-2024 12:17

From a completely unscientific survey consisting of glancing at the side of the road on collection day, I'd say between one in three and one in four houses here are using them.

I wonder what happened to the remaining 66-75% of the bins?

richms

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#3220249 19-Apr-2024 12:27

neb:

From a completely unscientific survey consisting of glancing at the side of the road on collection day, I'd say between one in three and one in four houses here are using them.

I wonder what happened to the remaining 66-75% of the bins?

I use my bin beside where I park the car to put cans and bottles into since its too far from the big recycle bin.

Richard rich.ms

johno1234

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#3220257 19-Apr-2024 13:17

neb:

From a completely unscientific survey consisting of glancing at the side of the road on collection day, I'd say between one in three and one in four houses here are using them.

I wonder what happened to the remaining 66-75% of the bins?

Ours was sitting with the other bins. Not not anymore since I read this: https://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?forumid=48&topicid=306027&page_no=7#3220215

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ockel

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#3220347 19-Apr-2024 15:23

johno1234: We've stopped using ours and all grindable waste goes to Watercare via Mr Insinkerator. I trust them to deal with it appropriately but I have no idea how efficient and green the scrap bin system is in reality.

We like to keep the kitchen bench clear to look spic and span as it's an open plan living area a bin of food waste just doesn't fit. It can smell and attract insects too. Stooping down to get it in and out of a cupboard every time I want to scrape a plate is way too inconvenient. Those pink compostable liners cost money and attract their own packaging and supplychain overhead and as a family of five we'd go through several a week.

Would be interested to know the uptake of this system is now and what is required to make it sustainable.

Auckland Council says they are on target to collect 35-40,000T of food waste. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/513274/the-aucklanders-who-refuse-to-use-food-scrap-bins

The Draft Waste Management and Minimisation Plan has plenty of statistics in it. Roughly speaking the 545,000 households generate 3771T of waste per week of which 41% is apparently food waste. Thats 80,000T per annum suggesting that current takeup is 40-50%.

It doesnt matter whether is sustainable as it seems it'll be supported to make it a generational adoption if nothing else. But means that HH are currently paying $1.19/kg for food waste disposal vs $0.48/kg for general refuse disposal (pre scheme). Even though the food waste reduction will mean lower tonnage going to landfill I seriously doubt that municipal waste charges will drop (just a higher effective $/kg for disposal).

By way of comparison if you book a Flexibin or equivalent and have your 200kg-600kg taken straight to the landfill you're paying between 23c and 70c/kg.

cddt

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#3220368 19-Apr-2024 16:33

ockel:

Auckland Council says they are on target to collect 35-40,000T of food waste.

Even using a conservative measure that's still tens of thousands of tons of CO2e emissions (primarily CH4) avoided...

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Journeyman

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#3220385 19-Apr-2024 17:15

neb:

I'd given the food scraps bin to some friends who were using it for bokashi composting but they moved overseas a few months ago and gave it back. It's now been sitting at the side of the kitchen for around three months and has attracted exactly zero food scraps (I counted them twice).

I've also asked someone at the council involved with the program what I can do with it: no, we have very little food waste and in any case already compost with existing bins, I don't fish so can't use it as a fish bin, and taking it with us for a picnic or something is pointless since we already have a hamper and in any case aren't likely to have any food scraps left afterwards.

Can anyone in Orkland / North shore use an extra food scraps bin? It seems a shame to just, uh, make it disappear, but since it'll never be used and is taking up space I need to get rid of it somehow.

Throw it in the recycling bin. If it's even the type of plastic that is accepted in the recycling bin any more.

neb

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#3220387 19-Apr-2024 17:18

It's PP so can actually be recycled, I'm just worried that, even with the serial numbers filed off, there could be Consequences.

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