C&G on Sustainability: Bayside Food-Waste Recycling

Tips & Advice

In a bid to reduce the amount of food waste Bayside sends to landfill, a new food waste recycling service has been developed and will be implemented on 15 July. In this C&G blog, we unpack what the changes will bring, and give you some handy tips on how to recycle your food waste correctly.

Food Waste Recycling

One in five bags of food ends up in landfill, with food waste costing the average Victorian household $2200 a year. When this food waste enters landfill, it is unable to biodegrade properly and creates and emits the damaging greenhouse gas, methane, as a result. On top of the environmental impact, disposing of food within landfill is actually more costly than composting it, and unfortunately the ratepayer is the one who ends up bearing this cost.

Food waste recycling enables Bayside Melbourne to help cut the amount of food waste being sent to landfill, and also encourages residents to reduce the amount of waste being created in the first place.

Key Dates and Details

Residents with a green bin - now a food waste bin - will be asked to begin putting their bins out for collection from 15 July. They will also receive a kitchen caddy that can be stored on the bench, and compostable bin liners to assist in the transition to the new recycling service.

There will be no changes to other garbage or recycling bin collection.

How To Recycle Correctly

Residents can recycle fruit and vegetable offcuts, meat scraps and bones as well as weeds, flowers, grass and garden prunings. Things such as paper towels, egg shells and coffee grounds can also be recycled. If you’re using bin liners, it’s important to ensure they are labelled compostable as these are specifically designed to break down within a home compost. Avoid using biodegradable bags, as they don’t degrade quickly enough.

How to Reduce Food Waste

In addition to our new recycling system, locals can also begin to form a few healthy habits that will cut the amount of food waste created within their home. Taking time to plan ahead of shopping, writing lists and checking for existing ingredients can help cut down on buying unnecessary food.