Gardeners and landscapers are invited to grab some free mulch from the Queenstown Lakes District Council today.

Photo: 123RF

About 5400 tonnes of food and green waste goes to the Victoria Flats landfill each year.

While the mulch is normally used on the district's parks, the council said it was piling up and needed to be cleared.

Council waste minimisation project office Katherine Buttar said the council wanted to keep green waste out of the landfill.

"When these products end up in landfill, they are responsible for the generation of methane, which is a really potent greenhouse gas, as it breaks down," Buttar said.

And aside from the climate change aspect, it's also a "real waste of really good resource because instead of being able to turn that back into compost which can help nourish our soils, it ends up in a hole in the ground".

The community was encouraged to compost at home and use it in their garden, she said.

The mulch is available from Lower Shotover between 10am and 2pm.

It was on a first-come, first-serve basis, she said.