Living Earth general manager George Fietje hopes Auckland Council will bring in kerbside organic collection. Photo / Greg Bowker
nzherald.co.nz; By Christopher Adams: It sounds like the dream business model.
Companies pay you to take away their waste, which you turn into a product and sell for a profit.
For compost maker Living Earth, which is in its 18th year of operation and processed its millionth tonne of organic waste this month, that very business model is a reality.
The company gets garden and food waste from transfer stations, arborists and collection firms such as Auckland’s Sunshine Garden Bag Company.
Living Earth general manager George Fietje said those organisations pay his firm to take the waste away.
“The alternative is for it to go to landfill,” Fietje said.
“We offer a lower disposal cost than landfill.”
After collection the waste is transferred to Living Earth’s facilities in Auckland and Christchurch, where it is turned into compost and sold to farmers and home gardeners. A 40kg bag costs $12 at garden centres.
The company even outsources a portion of its bagging work to some of the country’s toughest criminals.
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