Free green waste drop-off taken up by Buller community
Buller residents have embraced Buller District Council’s free garden green waste drop-off initiative, resulting in an influx of green waste received during the Christmas holiday.
Council launched the seven-month trial at the beginning of December 2024, enabling residents to dispose of their garden green waste for free at the Westport and Reefton Transfer Stations.
Prior to Christmas council chipped the usable portion of green waste received during the first two weeks of the trial. After the holiday period, contractors created 22 tonnes of mulch from material dropped off between 20 December 2024 and 6 January 2025.
Group Manager Infrastructure Services Anthony Blom says: “It was great to see the community getting behind this initiative so quickly. However, the large amount of green waste received over a condensed time frame has created challenges for managing the drop-off site and processing the green waste.”
Before Christmas, the council placed skips at the Westport Transfer Station and installed signs to direct people where to unload fibrous green waste like flax and cabbage tree leaves, grass clippings, and other smaller green waste items to separate them from the chippable green waste, such as hedge trimmings and tree branches.
Mr Blom explains: “The biggest issue we’ve had is the massive accumulation of mixed green waste. Despite the signage and extensive communication, people unloaded lawn clippings, fibrous material, weeds, other items, and chippable green waste mixed together at the site.
This has meant we’ve had to bring in additional staff and equipment to spread out the green waste, manually sort it to extract the usable green waste, and then chip it. To get on top of this, we closed the site on 6 January and again on 15 January to stop more mixed green waste from accumulating.
Separating the different types of green waste is crucial since fibrous material damages the shredding machinery, and grass clippings don’t require further treatment. People must also keep their garden green waste free of rocks, plastics, or other items since these will damage the mulcher and cause unwanted items such as plastic to contaminate the compost.
Mr Blom says, “We have learned a lot, which enables us to improve. However, we must consider costs, especially since this service is free. Options like dedicated site staffing or additional machinery come at a considerable cost, which must be considered.”
Council is currently working with its contractor, WestReef Services Ltd, on improving the site layout, installing more signage, replacing the high-entry skips with low-entry skips, more frequent chipping of green waste, and better customer guidance from staff.
From Friday, 17 January 2024, people can drop off their garden green waste again during the Transfer Station opening hours.
Mr Blom concludes: “We are, within our financial means, improving our operations by setting up a site layout that is more user-friendly, refining operational processes and providing better customer guidance. However, in the long run, it ultimately comes down to people following the guidelines and adhering to instructions on the signage. This will help the trial succeed, resulting in a positive environmental outcome and the possibility of ongoing free garden green waste drop off for the community.”
Notes to the reader:
The chipped, usable green waste – prepared from material excluding flax, cabbage tree leaves, and wood/logs over 300 mm in diameter, will be mixed with wastewater sludge at the Westport Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Wastewater sludge consists of the solid, organic, mud-like material left behind after wastewater has been treated at the wastewater plant. Breaking down these materials makes it possible to turn the sludge and green waste into compost-like material for various uses, such as a soil conditioner for landscaping.
This enables council to process the wastewater sludge locally, using green waste to provide the required nitrogen to kick-start the composting process and add additional bulk, allowing the sludge to break down over time. The composted material will be tested, and the results will determine what it can be used for.
-ENDS-
For further information, please contact:
Community Engagement Team
Buller District Council
Media.Enquiries@bdc.govt.nz