Residents in west Auckland have paid $11.25 to have inorganic rubbish collected since February, instead of leaving it kerbside to be collected for free.
Some of it is then sold on Trade Me, in some cases after being restored, The New Zealand Herald reported.
Among the sales that Waitakere City Council sales administrator Peter Bunting remembered was a 30-year-old synthesiser, which made $1450.
Council solid waste business unit manager John Roscoe said annual turnover was about $80,000, money which funded inorganic collections and other rubbish costs.
"It's not really profitable, it's breaking even," he said.
"The objective here is to reduce waste to landfill, provided it's financially sustainable."
Auckland City Council said it considered the idea but it did not proceed, while North Shore City Council and Manukau City Council said they had no plans to take up the scheme.
