Household waste bound for landfill will be halved under a new food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection service starting across the City of Hobart next month.
Hobart City residents will be the first in southern Tasmania to receive the kerbside service, which is expected to divert up to 3200 tonnes of food waste from landfill annually.
"The introduction of a FOGO collection is a major milestone in our city's war on waste and our goal achieve zero waste to landfill by 2030," Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said.
"Food waste makes up more than half of household general waste, with the average household contributing more than 200 kilograms of food to landfill each year.
"The FOGO service will collect food waste and other organic materials for composting, removing these items from landfill and providing a direct benefit to our environment."
Under the new service, food waste and other items such as compostable packaging, paper towels and tissues, coffee grounds and pet hair can be placed in the existing green-lid bin that accepts garden clippings. Even pet poo and organic kitty litter can be given the FOGO treatment.
"If yours is one of the 14 000 Hobart City households that already has a green waste bin, that bin will now become your FOGO bin," City Infrastructure Chair Ald Tanya Denison said.
"Your collection will stay the same but you'll now be able to add a range of other compostable items to your green waste bin, instead of putting them in with your general waste and sending them off to landfill."
Organic materials collected from FOGO bins will be delivered to an organics treatment facility, where it will be transformed into a quality compost that meets Australian standards.
To make it easier to collect food waste for composting, small kitchen caddies will soon be delivered to all Hobart properties that have a green waste bin.
"When you receive your kitchen caddy, pop it somewhere handy and put your food scraps in as you go," Cr Reynolds said. "But it's important not to use a plastic bin liner. Either put them in loose or use a compostable liner, such as newspaper or certified compostable bags."
Delivery of kitchen caddies will start later this month, with all eligible properties to receive one in time for the service to commence on 11 November.
Hobart City residents who don't currently have a green waste bin can request a service via the City of Hobart website or by phoning 03 6278 0273 (additional charges apply). Businesses, including cafes and restaurants, can also request a FOGO service.
