TrustaLocal
Christchurch/Rubbish removal/Green waste
Stream 3 · Its own cheaper rate · Updated 2 August 2026

Prunings aren’t rubbish.

Green waste drops at $152.60 a tonne at EcoDrop, about a third of the general-waste price, because it gets composted, not landfilled. Christchurch even collects it weekly at the kerb. The whole game in this stream is keeping your load pure.

Weekly council green bin $152.60/t drop-off Composted at Bromley

Four ways to move it

CCC kerbside green bin
Rates-fundedWeekly collection
The default for most homes: an 80L organics bin collected weekly, taking all food waste plus most garden waste. Upsize to 240L for an annual $227 charge. Everything goes to the Bromley plant and comes back as certified organic compost.
DIY drop-off at EcoDrop
$152.60/tMin $18.40 · weighbridge
The cheapest route for a big load if you have a trailer and the load is pure green. Green waste runs about a third of the $458.69/t general rate. A sorted load that is more than 50% green can qualify for the $397.45/t mixed rate.
Green-waste skip
$343–$448Super Skips published
Super Skips publishes green-waste pricing: 3m3 $343, 7.5m3 $379, 9m3 $448, up to 7 days including GST. Waste Control Skips and Christchurch Skip Hire also take green-only loads. Best for a one-off garden clearance without a trailer.
Full-service garden clearance
Quote-basedCrew + disposal
Jim’s Mowing, Junkman and General Junk handle the whole job: cutting, loading, hauling and disposal. Junkman lists overgrown gardens as a core job type. Best when the green waste starts as a jungle, not a pile.

What’s accepted, and what isn’t

Accepted in the green stream
  • Lawn clippings
  • Leaves
  • Weeds
  • Prunings and rose trimmings
  • Branches, shrub and hedge trimmings
  • All food waste (kerbside green bin only)
Rejected: these need other streams
  • Flax (jams the grinders)
  • Soil and dirt (clean fill stream)
  • Compostable packaging and bags (red bin)
  • Plastic pots and bags
  • Treated timber and building waste
  • Kitchen waste at EcoDrop (green bin only)

Flax is the classic Christchurch surprise: common in gardens, excluded from green skips and bins because it jams the grinders. Soil contaminates compost and belongs in clean fill. Compostable packaging looks green but goes in the red bin, per CCC rules.

Providers & routes, compared

CCC kerbside green bin Weekly collection · Christchurch Bins app
Included in rates80L standard
Food and garden waste collected weekly and processed into certified organic compost at the Bromley Organics Processing Plant, around 55,000 tonnes a year. Upsizing to 240L costs $227 a year. The easiest green stream in the city.
EcoDrop transfer stations Metro Place (Bromley) · Parkhouse Rd (Wigram) · Styx Mill Rd (Redwood)
$152.60/tGreen waste rate 2026/27
Bulk green waste by weight at all three EcoDrops: branches, lawn clippings, leaves, prunings, hedge trimmings. $18.40 minimum, prepaid cars $17.30. Sort before you arrive: free recycling and reuse drops happen before the weighbridge.
★ 4.4(189) What people say Google
Friendly helpful staffEasy trailer unloading
Poor site maintenanceAwkward layout for liftingPushed toward landfill
Super Skips Enquiry / form
$343–$448Published green prices
Published green-waste skip pricing including GST and up to 7 days: 3m3 $343, 7.5m3 $379, 9m3 $448. WINZ-accredited quotes. The transparency benchmark for green skips in Christchurch.
Waste Control Skips Book online
From $2353m3–7.5m3, 7-day hire
North Canterbury owned, servicing Christchurch City to Hanmer Springs. Bins take general and green waste from $235 (3m3) with a 1000kg cap and 38c/kg excess. Best for north-side and rural-fringe garden loads.
Jim’s Mowing NZ 0800 454 654
Quote-basedFranchise network
Garden and green-waste removal plus section clean-ups through the franchise network. Best when the job is garden-first: pruning, clearing and hauling in one visit.
★ 4.2(18) Google
Junkman 0800 586 5626
From $124Crew + sorting
Full-service crew that lists overgrown gardens full of broken equipment as a core job. Loads get sorted at base for landfill diversion. Best when green waste is mixed with general junk.

Common mistakes

Putting garden waste in the red bin: the red bin is a 140L fortnightly landfill stream. The green bin is collected weekly and is already paid for in your rates. Landfilling prunings is paying top price for the cheapest stream.

Paying general-waste prices for a pure green load: green drops at $152.60/t versus $458.69/t general at EcoDrop. Sorting is the difference between a cheap run and an expensive one.

Loading flax into a green skip or bin: flax jams the grinders, and Christchurch skip operators explicitly exclude it. Flax needs the general stream or specialist handling.

Mixing soil into a green load: soil belongs in clean fill ($123.17/t at EcoDrop). Skip operators warn even 100kg of soil in a green bin can add around $45 in extra charges.

Putting compostable packaging in the green bin: CCC is explicit that compostable and biodegradable bags, liners and packaging go in the red bin. They contaminate the compost stream.

Taking kitchen waste to EcoDrop’s green area: EcoDrop green waste is garden-only. Food scraps go in the kerbside green bin, which is exactly what makes the council bin worth using.

FAQ

Does Christchurch City Council collect green waste?

Yes. Unlike Wellington, Christchurch has a kerbside organics service: an 80L green bin collected weekly, taking all food waste and most garden waste, funded through the waste minimisation charge on rates. You can upsize to a 240L green bin for an annual $227 charge.

How much does it cost to dump green waste in Christchurch?

EcoDrop charges $152.60 per tonne for green waste with an $18.40 minimum (prepaid cars $17.30), roughly a third of the $458.69/t general rate. Green skips run $343-$448 published with Super Skips. A load that is more than 50% green and easily separable can qualify for the $397.45/t sorted mixed rate.

What cannot go in the green stream?

Flax (it jams the grinders), soil (clean fill has its own rate), compostable packaging (red bin, per CCC), plastic pots and bags, and treated timber. Kitchen waste is accepted in the kerbside green bin but not in EcoDrop’s garden-only green area.

What happens to Christchurch green waste?

Kerbside green-bin material goes to the Organics Processing Plant in Bromley, which processes around 55,000 tonnes a year into certified organic compost used on Canterbury farms. A new council organics processing facility is planned for late 2026. Diversion here is real, not marketing.

Green bin, green skip, or drop-off?

The kerbside green bin for ongoing garden and food waste: it is weekly and already in your rates. EcoDrop drop-off at $152.60/t if you have a trailer and a big pure load. A green skip for a one-off clearance without a trailer. A crew when the job starts with cutting, not loading.

The short version

Use the weekly green bin for everything ongoing, it is already in your rates and it takes food waste too. Big pure loads go to EcoDrop at $152.60/t if you have a trailer, or a Super Skips green skip ($343-$448 published) if you don’t. Keep flax, soil and compostable packaging out of the load, and never let green waste ride as general: the rate difference is the whole point.