Greenwaste is what Living Earth uses to make its compost from. Greenwaste is plant material that is produced when you weed, prune your trees and mow your lawns. It includes:
- Tree prunings and branches – up to 200 mm diameter stems
- Weeds
- Old plants
- Lawn clippings
- Shrubs
- Flowers
But please, no;
- flax
- cabbage tree leaves
- bamboo
- soil (other than what is around the plant roots)
- plastic
- glass
- tins, metal
- wood ash
How can I have my greenwaste collected from my home knowing it will be used in Living Earth’s composting process, NOT sent to the landfill?In Auckland, greenwaste is collected by
- Sunshine Garden Bag & Bin Co. 0800 786 224.
- Auckland Garden Bag Company
- North Shore Garden Bags
- gabco www.gabco.nz
- Bag It
- Rams Greenwaste
Which transfer stations can I drop off my greenwaste at, so it can be sent to Living Earth for composting?
Greenwaste brought into the following transfer stations is transported to Living Earth for composting.
- Living Earth Limited
Devonport Transfer Station
27 Lake Road
Devonport
09 445 6914 - Envirowaste
Pikes Point Transfer Station
81 Captain Springs Road
Onehunga
09 636 6635
Constellation Drive Transfer Station
4 Home Place
Mairangi Bay
09 478 9888
Patiki Road Transfer Station
114 Patiki Road
Avondale
09 820 5691
Wiri Transfer Station
196 Wiri Station Road
Wiri
09 250 0214 - Central Landscape Supplies
Central Landscape Supplies
419 Rosebank Road
Avondale
09 828 5533 - Waste Management Limited
Waiheke Island Transfer Station
102-106 Ostend Road
Waiheke Island
09 372 1070
East Tamaki Transfer Station
33 Neales Road
East Tamaki
09 273 8087
Papakura Transfer Station
Inlet Road
Takanini
09 299 8153 - Waitakere City
Refuse Recycling Station
The Concourse
Henderson
09 839 0400 (WCC Customer Services)
In Christchurch, your greenwaste is collected at kerbside on a regular basis. For more information go to http://www.ccc.govt.nz/homeliving/rubbishrecycling/kerbsidecollection/
When my weeds go to Living Earth don’t they stay in the compost and re-grow? No, throughout the composting process temperatures of over 55 degrees Celsius are reached. It only takes three days at this heat to kill all weed seeds and there is no chance of them germinating at a later date. However, our composting lasts much longer, up to 120 days and during this time, the pile is turned many times to make sure all the greenwaste gets to this temperature.
If I’ve sprayed my roses or other garden plants will the spray residue affect the compost made by Living Earth?
The heat process mentioned above is enough to kill out virtually all herbicide and pesticide residues. Every batch of compost and compost product made is tested to ensure plants grow actively and healthily. There is one culprit that you need to be aware of – Clopyralid. While most selective weedkillers for lawns are broken down in the composting process, any product containing the active ingredient clopyralid leaves a detectable residue in your lawn clippings that in turn affect that batch of compost. So if you’ve sprayed your lawn with a product containing it, put your lawn clippings in your inorganic waste bin collection.
But be assured, each year Living Earth spends over $150,000.00 testing our compost products to ensure that when they are used on the garden, your plants will be the biggest and healthiest around!