November 24th, 2024

New Zealand's battle with food waste: Why households shun council's food scraps collection

For the households that have never used the food scraps collection, the dominant reason is that they already compost their food scraps or feed them to animals, which accounted for 72% of the responses.

compost their food scraps or feed them to animals, which accounted for 72% of the responses.
compost their food scraps or feed them to animals, which accounted for 72% of the responses.

In 2022, New Zealand's Ministry for the Environment embarked on a mission to understand why households across four councils in the country have been largely reluctant to use the food scraps collection system. A recent report commissioned by the Ministry found that only 41.5% of households across these councils participate in the food scraps collections, despite the environmental and practical benefits associated with the service.

The research, which consisted of a participation survey, an attitudinal survey, a waste audit, and focus groups, highlighted two major obstacles to the adoption of the food scraps collection: misunderstanding about the volume of food waste generated by households, and concerns about the practicality of the collection system.

For the households that have never used the food scraps collection, the dominant reason is that they already compost their food scraps or feed them to animals, which accounted for 72% of the responses. The survey found that these households appear to be unaware of the actual quantity of food scraps they dispose of in their rubbish bin. Furthermore, 53% of households believe they dispose of only a small amount of food scraps, while 17% think they dispose of none at all.

Yet, the waste audit revealed a different reality. Only 6% of households did not set out any food scraps in their kerbside rubbish, 23% set out less than 1 kg of food scraps, and 32% set out between 1 kg and 3 kg. Disturbingly, 39% of households set out more than 3 kg of food scraps per collection, indicating a significant discrepancy between perception and reality when it comes to food waste.

The second major deterrent to using the food scraps collection service is linked to concerns over the smell and flies associated with the collection. Over half (51%) of the households that have discontinued the use of the service have done so for this reason.

Despite these challenges, the research suggests that potential solutions exist. The focus groups found that many households were not aware of the environmental impacts of landfilling food scraps or the environmental benefits of composting. Therefore, educating households about these issues could potentially encourage greater participation in the food scraps collection service.

This study underscores the need for concerted action to address food waste, which remains a significant issue, not just in New Zealand, but globally. Through increased education and awareness, households can better understand the benefits of food scraps collection and the detrimental impact that food waste has on our environment.