Nearly half of the rubbish Franklin residents throw away comes from our gardens and kitchens.
We might think that organic waste has no harmful effects - it just breaks down right? Not quite. Kitchen and garden waste makes great compost, but it creates problems when it is buried in a landfill. When organic waste breaks down in a landfill it produces methane, a greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. A liquid known as leachate that can pollute waterways and costs money to treat is also produced.
Burning rubbish causes air pollution (and is banned by the Regional Council). Putting food scraps down in-sink waste disposal units places pressure on the sewer system and the waste water treatment plant and wastes valuable nutrients that could be returned to the soil.
There are many good reasons to compost traditionally, have a worm farm or use bokashi. It’s great for the environment, improves your soil, produces fantastic fertiliser for your plants, veggies and garden, and saves water.
Recycling and composting can reduce the rubbish in your rubbish bag by up to three quarters!
How you can Create your own Eden
Council promotes the regional Create your own Eden programme, which aims to reduce the amount of food scraps and garden waste going to landfill by encouraging home composting, having material collected for composting, or taking it to a transfer station.
For more information visit the following link:
Create your own Eden
The three main types of composting are:
• Traditional home composting - hot or cold composting with garden and food wastes, using a wooden box, plastic bin or heap. This is an aerobic (with air) process which mimics nature by ‘recycling’ organic materials. Organic material is broken down by bacteria, fungi and other beneficial insects and microorganisms. Composting recovers the nutrients from nitrogen-containing food scraps and garden waste (green waste) and from carbon-containing dried leaves, sawdust, hay, and paper (brown waste).
• Worm farming – using worms to feed on most food scraps in a home made or store bought layered bin with a tap. This process, also called ‘vermiculture’, uses tiger worms (not earth worms) in an artificial ecosystem to convert organic waste into nutrient-rich fertiliser. Worm waste (made up of solid worm castings and liquid worm tea) is produced after worms digest food and paper waste. It provides beneficial nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) for the soil encouraging plant growth.
• Bokashi – a two-container system for cooked and raw food waste that can be used indoors. This method, meaning “fermented organic matter”, uses beneficial microorganisms to ferment organic materials anaerobically (without air) in a sealed container to produce a solid and liquid soil conditioner. The process must be followed by traditional composting or burying materials directly into the soil.
Council has free composting guides available that provide information on getting started, what to compost (and what not to compost), choosing the right system for your home, buying or making a bin, common problems and more.
Click the link below to download a copy.
• 'How to' composting guide
If you are interested in receiving a hardcopy call Customer Services on 09 237 1300 or visit the contact us section.
Off-site environmentally-friendly organic waste disposal options
If you don’t have time to compost at home – let someone else do it for you.
Garden waste collections
For a small charge you can arrange for a collector to pick up your garden waste. Garden bags and bins vary in size and you can choose how often they are collected (some companies now offer casual or one-off collections).
Drop-off your garden waste at your local transfer station
For a small charge you can take your garden waste to a local transfer station. You can drop off a bag or trailer load of garden rubbish. All grass clippings and tree cuttings will be composted. For prices and hours phone your local transfer station.
Smart gardening
Smart gardening uses techniques that are beneficial to the environment and will also save you time and money. Council has a free smart gardening guide available for Franklin residents to learn about ways to reduce waste and resources when gardening. Click the link below to download a copy or call Customer Services on 09 237 1300 to request a hardcopy.
• ‘How to’ smart gardening guide