Cannabis, a bong and what appeared to be a glitter-covered dog poo are just some of the more interesting items to be found in Gisborne's rubbish bags.
A team of waste auditors in May also found unopened foods like chocolate bars, unopened salmon steaks and a dead mouse.
The audit was carried out over three days, with 300 rubbish bags chosen at random from across the city.
It found 42.8% of what was thrown away was food waste. The Gisborne District Council said this added up to 37.4 tonnes every week of uneaten food going to landfill.
Solid Waste manager Phil Nickerson said the data would help the council plan where funding and education is necessary.
"The largest category of rubbish that was thrown away that week was 'organics' which compromised 51.6 per cent of the total [amount of rubbish audited]."
"Sanitary paper" — disposable nappies, paper towels, sanitary products and tissues — came in second at 13.3% and plastics were third at 13%.
The council has a list on its website of how to properly dispose of an array of items.
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