Mahinga Kai Composting

Kitchen green waste rotting in landfills produces some of the highest rates of methane gas out of any rubbish. However, when those same scraps are properly composted carbon is put back into the soil, and these harmful gasses are no longer released into the atmosphere. What they then produce is nutrient rich compost, perfect for growing healthy vegetables.

Saving the planet one bucket at a time

Illustration of Mahinga Kai Composting bin. 4 A Better City Charitable Trust. Hutt Valley. New Zealand.

Our composting program

Mahinga Kai has a composting program available for the Upper Hutt community. For a small monthly fee we can collect your kitchen waste from your home, office or small business using our ebike. We will then turn your scraps into nutrient rich compost that gets given or sold to other community projects.

How it works

When you sign up, you will be given a 20 ltr bucket with a compostable bag to put your waste into.

We offer two methods to have your food scraps composted:

Weekly Collections
Available for households on the Valley floor from Totara Park, Maoribank, Brown Owl to Silverstream.
Weekly Drop offs
Available to anyone in Upper Hutt. Waste can be dropped to our Lane Street site or one of our Community Composting Hubs (coming soon).

How much it cost

Household Drop-off

$15/month

ENQUIRE NOW

Household Collection

$30/month, for up to 20 litres collected weekly.

ENQUIRE NOW

Business Collections

Starting at $30 +gst/month, for a 20 litres collected weekly.

ENQUIRE NOW

Not for Profits

We offer out household rates for fellow not for profit organisations.

ENQUIRE NOW

What can I put in my bucket?

All Mahinga Kai buckets have a visual reminder on the side of them of what we can accept for composting.

DOWNLOAD THE LIST pdf

Shop fresh vegetables and more - coming soon

Fresh, local produce is just a few clicks away! Each purchase supports our urban farm and helps make fresh, healthy food more accessible to the community. Ready to enjoy farm-fresh veggies?

Interested in joining this program?

Please fill in the form below to receive more information.

Illustration of people. Support 4 A Better City a not for profit organisation. Hutt Valley. New Zealand.

Mahinga Kai is part of 4 A Better City Charitable Trust which runs a “Back to Work” program through MSD and supports vulnerable people in our community