Photo: Nick Monro
Mark van Kaathoven has created some amazing gardens right in the middle of Auckland city.
He's sent no more than four bags of green waste to the tip in the last 15 years - instead using that waste to make sponge gardens.
Apart from reducing waste, they've also protected his home in drought and flood.
During Cyclone Gabrielle, many of his neighbours' homes were drenched but his sponge gardens absorbed all the extra moisture and kept his home safe and dry.
He talks to Mihi about his unconventional approach to gardening and why he believes everyone should do the same.
