Open day lifts lid on where green waste goes
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An open day for residents wanting to find out what happens to the contents of their green bin has attracted about 400 people.
A young boy checks out the compost produced at the Christchurch City Council's Organics Processing Plant in Bromley.
Each year the Christchurch City Council's Organics Processing Plant in Bromley, which is operated by Living Earth, converts more than 50,000 tonnes of food and green waste collected from Christchurch households into compost.
This means organic waste can be recycled into a high quality, useful product instead of going into landfill.
The green waste material is then matured in windrows (long rows outside) and takes another two months to transform into compost that can be used in home gardens, the city’s open spaces and parks, and the rural Canterbury market.
It has 18 in-vessel composting tunnels where the contents of green organics bins are processed over about seven days.
The plant is only open to the public every two years so Saturday's open day was a rare opportunity for a look behind the scenes.
There were tours of the plant and information provided on what can and can’t be put into a green bin, and why. Money saving tips were also shared on reducing food waste.
Find out more about rubbish and recycling.