Half of Melton’s landfill waste bins contain food that could be converted to organic compost a recent council audit has shown.
Green bins, collected fortnightly, take food scraps and garden waste to be turned into compost and distributed to parks, gardens, and farms around the state.
From February until April, Melton council will carry out inspections on its Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) green bins throughout the municipality.
Inspections will provide residents with feedback via bin tags on how to sort organic waste correctly.
An “Oh No!” tag is attached when non-accepted items are found in the green bin. Staff tick or mention the contaminating items on the tag.
Households sorting the green bin correctly receives a “thank-you” tag and will enter a monthly draw.
Four winners will be selected each month to receive a $100 eGift card and be listed on council’s website.
Since July 2021, residents have been able to opt into Council’s FOGO service at no additional charge.
Uptake of the service across the City has risen to 80 per cent since the change.
Council diverts more than 12,000 tonnes of food and garden material from general waste landfill annually.
Loose fruit and vegetable scraps, eggshells, offcuts, leftovers, as well as garden waste like branches, weeds and grass clippings are all able to be composted.
Recent council audits estimated 45 per cent of food waste is still going straight to landfill.
Data has also shown that the main contaminants of FOGO bins include food scraps and organic waste still in containers and bags.
Melton mayor Kathy Majdlik said putting our food and garden waste into a green bin is a simple step, but it has a huge impact on the amount of waste council sends to landfill each year.
“It reduces emissions, relieves pressure on council landfill and creates compost that is great for the garden,” she said.
