26 Oct 2025 – Why is rubbish collection changing to every two weeks?

In response to the Auckland Council’s waste reduction and sorting policies, the Chinese Conservation Education Trust held an environmental talk themed “Trash to Treasure” at the CCET Centre on 26 October 2025, which attracted nearly 30 community residents to participate.

The talk, given by Ms. Estella Lee, Chair of the Chinese Conservation Education Trust (CCET), focused on the importance of waste sorting. Estella pointed out that unsorted waste is sent directly to Auckland’s landfills. However, Auckland’s main landfills are already nearing capacity, and building new landfills would not only be extremely costly but also waste even more land resources. Landfilled waste often takes decades or even centuries to decompose, releasing greenhouse gases such as methane during this period and rendering the land unusable for extended periods, placing enormous pressure on the environment and the city’s sustainable development.

Following this, Estella introduced the Auckland Council’s waste recycling process to the residents—from residents’ sorting and disposal, collection and transportation, mechanical sorting to reuse. She also showed videos of the waste recycling station, giving everyone a glimpse into what happens “after recycling.”

Residents showed great interest in food waste recycling, and she demonstrated how Auckland converts it into fertilizer and recyclable gas. These resources, after processing, can be used as organic fertilizer on local farms, and methane gas is converted into the national pipeline, providing clean energy for households—truly turning waste into treasure.

The Auckland Council will implement a “bi-weekly landfill collection (red bins)” policy, and Chairperson Li explained in detail the benefits, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, promoting residents’ awareness of waste sorting, and improving resource utilization efficiency.

At the end of the event, residents filled out the Auckland Council’s official questionnaire, providing valuable community feedback for the council’s ongoing “bi-weekly waste collection” survey, contributing to a greener and more sustainable Auckland.

This talk not only enhanced community residents’ understanding of waste sorting and resource recycling, but also made more people realize that environmental protection starts with small things in life, truly realizing the concept of “Trash to Treasure”.