New waste contracts to reduce waste to landfill

The new household bin collection contract awarded on Monday includes a provision for food waste to be placed in green waste bins. This would offer all residents with a green waste bin an additional food waste disposal option other than landfill, composting or worm farms.

Cardinia Shire Mayor Councillor Jeff Springfield said residents have been able to opt-in to receive a green waste bin service for around 13 years now, and Council expects that from October 2020 food waste will also be accepted in the green bin.

“Food waste accounts for around 40% of waste sent to landfill. Reducing and diverting food waste from landfill is an established priority in our Council Plan as well as state-wide Waste and Resource Recovery plans,” Cr Springfield said.

“With limited capacity and increasing cost of disposal to landfill, the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the opportunity to recover valuable nutrients through commercial composting, makes the introduction of accepting food waste in the green bins a good move for the environment as well as our community.

“This new service is an efficient method of diverting all household food scraps from landfill and recovering the waste into a usable product for Victorian farmers. As all food would be accepted, including meat, it is a great option for food that would not normally be composted.

For households who are unable to compost or worm farm at home and for residents who do not already have a green waste bin, one can be ordered through Council’s website or Customer Service team.

Food in green bins is expected to commence from October 2020, with more information available over the coming months.

Cr Springfield added that Council also resolved at its meeting on Monday to transition the current shire-wide hard and bundled green waste collections to a ‘bookable’ service.

“Hard and green waste collections will move to a bookable service, likely to be introduced around mid-2020, following the last shire-wide service in April/May 2020.

“The new, bookable service will make the service available to residents throughout the year, at a time convenient to them.

“It will be a more efficient and community-focussed service, providing a flexible service to meet residents needs rather than just a set time each year.”

Cr Springfield said that properties or estates with small frontages often find it difficult to place all hard and bundled green waste out at the same time, and the service means residents can organise a collection at a time that suits them.

“These waste service improvements reflect feedback collected by the community for the preparation of the shire’s waste strategy, and are designed to offer the best service and value-for-money to our community; support people to reduce, reuse and recycle; and divert waste from landfill.”

For more information about local waste services, visit: www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/rubbishandrecycling