Auckland Council’s food scraps collection service – rukenga kai, which translates to food cast onward – is about to begin.

The service will help reduce the amount of organic waste going to landfill by converting food scraps into a renewable resource. It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The collection will roll out to over 500,000 households over the coming months. In the first year, it is estimated to collect 39,000 tonnes of food scraps. This diversion from landfill is the equivalent carbon emissions saving to taking 10,000 medium-sized cars off the road annually.

The food scraps are transported to Ecogas, a new state-of-the-art plant in Reporoa. Empty trucks returning from Auckland to the Waikato are used to transport food scraps to the plant so the collection does not result in additional trips.

Using anaerobic digestion technology, bacteria ‘eat’ the food scraps and break them down into valuable by-products – biogas, renewable energy and fertiliser.

For more information about the food scraps collection visit the Auckland Council website.

Image: Auckland Council