Responsible green waste management | Biosecurity Advisory 22/2021

The dumping of garden clippings and other green waste material into the environment poses the risk of introducing unwanted environmental weeds and diseases into our native bushlands and waterways. 

When you are maintaining your home garden or aquarium, the responsible management of green waste on your property will help prevent the spread and impact of weeds on Tasmania’s unique natural environment.

Common home garden plants often become environmental weeds through the illegal dumping of green waste – for example (but not limited to): Foxglove, Banana Passionfruit and Cape Ivy. Most of Australia’s water weed problems have resulted from the dumping of aquarium plants into waterways.

To help manage the risk, use your FOGO bin to recycle unwanted green waste, instead of discarding the waste illegally and damaging our environment.

Alternatively, good composting will destroy the reproductive capacity of many potential weed plants and return much of the nutrition they may have removed, back into your soil.   Consider composting garden and aquarium green waste within your own contained composting system and reuse as fertiliser or mulch on your property. Good composting will destroy the reproductive capacity of many potential weed plants and return much of the nutrition they may have removed, back into your soil. 

Additional information on preventing and controlling weeds can be found by clicking on the green button below: Preventing and Controlling Weeds - Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Tasmania (dpipwe.tas.gov.au)

Remember, we all have a General Biosecurity Duty to help protect Tasmania from pests, weeds and diseases. You can help meet your General Biosecurity Duty by taking measures to reduce the risk of your green waste impacting upon the environment.

More information about the General Biosecurity Duty can be accessed by clicking on the green button: General Biosecurity Duty (dpipwe.tas.gov.au)

Contact details for the Invasive Species Branch of the Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment are below:

Phone: 03 6165 3777 Email: [email protected]