If rubbish is collected fortnightly how do you reduce waste and stop stinky bins?

Heading towards Auckland's 2040 zero waste goal, about 10,000 households in the city will soon face the challenge of putting out rubbish less frequently in a trial for fortnightly pick-ups.

It'll help the council determine whether they will do a wider rollout from 2028, as part of the new draft Waste Management Plan to reduce waste and carbon emissions.

We don't know when the trial will happen, but council staff suggest between February 2026 and August 2026.

Cutting back on waste, let alone living without producing any rubbish, in an age driven by consumerism can seem impossible, but it's a breeze for Liam Prince and Hannah Blumhardt, who stopped using their bins cold turkey 10 years ago.

"It was sort of a process of developing new habits, new ways of shopping, and cooking, and eating, changing some of our expectations," says Prince, who co-leads grassroots zero waste advocacy The Rubbish Trip with Blumhardt.

Blumhardt knows all too well that asking people to reduce their waste when they're under time and money constraints is tough - so what tips do these experts have to offer? And how do we manage when it's just not possible?

Isn't it going to stink if it stays for two weeks?

Auckland's food scraps bin should alleviate this problem, because you're taking out the main source which could lead to smells and pests, Prince and Blumhardt say.

Let's also not forget this collection will stay as weekly. "And so that's [about] 50 litres a fortnight of waste that you're not throwing in your rubbish bin," says BIN-fluencer Kate Fenwick, who shares tips and advice on recycling and waste management.

As usual, make sure you're rinsing off any food remains on containers you're throwing out in the general waste or recycling bins, Fenwick says. It not only helps with the smell, but it means the item can be repurposed.

Also ask yourself: Are you actually eating everything you buy? Often, we're wasting untouched food, Fenwick says, but Love Food Hate Waste has storage tips and recipes to help reduce food waste.

What if I don't have space for a compost? Won't I get pests when I compost?

For those in small housing or areas where there is no food scrap collection, Prince and Blumhardt suggest setting up a clay pot composting system where you can simply layer your food scraps with dry leaves, wood chips and sawdust in terracotta pots.

"It takes a few months to slowly break down in the pots, you can then plant things in there and have a few indoor or balcony plants."

Their pro tip is to use bokashi flakes to quicken the breakdown of harder things like meat, dairy and bones, which could be smelly and attract pests. Ward off any pests like mice by ensuring the pots are sealed, Prince says.

"If you're mixing the ingredients well and layering enough of that carbon material like leaves and wood chips and stuff like that, they really help to lower the odours and things like that."

Don't want all that hassle? There are now community-based composting groups or market gardens that accept food scraps.

Wellington chef and restaurateur Max Gordy has some tips on how to use leftovers; including bread to make ice cream or a miso rice dish, oven-baked crackers from potato peels, and using onion skins for a roasted vegetable broth.

But nearly everything comes in either a bag, container or bottle …

Fenwick says that soft plastics generally take up most of the space in bins and we need to take responsibility for what we buy.

"Collecting them up and taking them to the supermarket when you go to do your shopping is a really good idea, so that you get them out of your bin." (Check out Soft Plastics Recycling for locations.)

Save space on non-recyclable plant-based milk bottles by taking them to a drop-off point or look for a brand that does alternative milk in recyclable bottles, Fenwick says.

Think about the value of what you're buying. For example, it can be better to buy a big bag of chips than multi-packs which use more packaging for the same or less quantity, she says.

Blumhardt suggests dropping "convenience items", like snacks, altogether and buying fresh or raw ingredients to cook from scratch. Try shopping at bulk bin stores or places that have unpackaged goods, like zero waste grocers and organic shops.

To help others, they have created a 'zero waste' shopping guide and map.

The Rubbish Trip duo also save money by using a solution of baking soda and vinegar as an alternative to clean everything in their house, and create their own vial of oil cleanser, for a mere cost of about $2-$3, to use as moisturiser, face cleanser and make-up remover.

"I think there's a whole sort of marketing aspect where we're told we need this specific product for this part of your house and this part of your body, you know, and you've got aisles and aisles of hundreds of different products in the supermarket, all in different packaging, a lot of which can't be recycled even," Prince says.

What about Christmas and celebrations?

Most things have been easy to cut back on for Blumhardt and Prince, but there are tricky things they couldn't avoid, including gifts, envelopes, stickers, tickets to festivals and receipts.

So, for Christmas or holiday celebrations, they suggest informing your loved ones if you want certain types of gifts or don't want any at all. Perhaps you wouldn't mind a second-hand gift or prefer an "experience" like tickets to your favourite show or movie?

"You don't have to use single-use paper wrapping. You can use things like fabrics. There's a Japanese art of packaging called Furoshiki … you could even see if you can find Christmas-themed fabrics that you can use as your Christmas wrapping," Prince says.

I've still got an overflowing bin… what can I do?

Auckland Council says larger households that may struggle with a fortnightly rubbish collection can order a larger 240L bin, which will cost slightly more than the smaller one under targeted rates.

"You can also order an extra food scraps bin or larger recycling bin with no extra charge to your rates bill."

And you don't have to wait for the rubbish collectors to come to you - you can take waste to transfer stations too, Fenwick says.