Kerbside food scraps collection

Update: Whanganui district councillors have voted to cancel the proposed kerbside food scraps service at an extraordinary meeting held on 10 March.

When councillors previously voted to support the service, they were under the impression that the service would soon be mandated by central government. However on 18 December 2024 central government reversed plans to make the service compulsory for councils across the country.

Although the service is no longer going ahead, there will be some unavoidable sunk costs (for things the contractor had already invested in, including bins). This will result in a cost of around $17 per household for the next 10 years, rather than $80 had the service gone ahead.

The council will now look at other options to tackle the food waste issue. One of our decisions made during the extraordinary meeting was that the council would actively work with our local community to encourage more education around composting and food storage.

Please remember these decisions rest with elected members, not council staff.