Giant turner for city’s composting plant

Christchurch will soon boast the biggest compost turning machine in New Zealand.

Living Earth, the organics waste contractor that processes the food and garden waste put into Christchurch’s green wheelie bins, is importing the new state-of-the-art compost turner from Austria.

A new compost turner arriving in Christchurch will be the biggest in the country.

The turner works by being driven over compost rows, aerating and wetting them as it goes to ensure there is enough water and air for optimal composting conditions.

The machine can turn up to 4500 cubic metres of compost an hour and is the biggest of its type in New Zealand.

“This new machine represents a big investment by Living Earth and it demonstrates their commitment to continuous improvement and operating their organics processing plant to a world-class standard for both the Council and the residents of Christchurch,’’ says Christchurch City Council Solid Waste Manager Ross Trotter.

The volume of compost being produced through Christchurch City Council's Organics Processing Plant in Bromley has been steadily growing since it first opened in March 2009.

In 2015/16 the plant turned a record 58,000 tonnes of food and green waste into more than 40,000 cubic metres of compost and soil conditioner. Over the past year this has grown to 62,000 tonnes, all from organics waste diverted from landfill.

That compost and soil conditioner ends up in gardens and farms all over Canterbury. It is also being put to good use in the East and South Frame, the refurbishment of Victoria Square, the upgrade of Council sports fields, and flood remediation schemes like Dudley Creek.

“People probably don’t give much thought to what happens to the food scraps and garden waste they put in their green wheelie bin but it does get put to good use,’’ Mr Trotter says.

Living Earth’s new compost turner is expected to arrive in Christchurch in the next few weeks and should be operational in time for the spring growth surge. It will be on display at the next Living Earth open day on 25 March, 2018.