Cardinia Shire Council this week awarded two waste contracts that will bring future waste service improvements to our community.
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.
