Australians throw away around one in five bags of groceries, costing households up to $2,500, each year.
Reducing food waste is one of the most effective actions individuals can take to lower their environmental impact. By buying only what you need and using what you buy, you can save money and reduce the resources wasted in producing, transporting and disposing of food.
Any unavoidable food scraps can be composted at home or placed in your FOGO bin to be turned into compost.
Try the Eat it Don’t Bin it challenge
Our Eat it Don’t Bin it challenge supports you to create delicious fuss-free meals that save time and use up all your ingredients.
Our top 3 actions for keeping food out of your bin and money in your wallet are:
- Make items that need using up in your pantry fridge and freezer easy to see and find
- Once a week make a meal out of foods and leftovers that need using up
- Before cooking check how many will be eating and adjust the amount you cook to minimise how much is left over.
For lots of inspiration and resources visit Eat it Don’t Bin it or The Great Unwaste.
Start composting (or wormfarming) at home
Merri-bek gardeners can get advice, ongoing support and discounted equipment to start your own worm farm or compost system at home. Composting systems rely on worms and other microorganisms to break down food and garden waste. They convert it into compost or castings and worm juice to feed your garden soil and plants.
We’ve partnered with Compost Community to offer online composting education and wide range of compost bins and worm farms at discounted prices. You can also buy individual components such as worms or compost matting.
How do I access these discounted composting products?
- Go the Compost Community website and click the image that says ‘Join today’ to create a user account.
- Then go to the ‘Order’ tab and click on ‘Merri-bek’ to see the wide range of products on offer.
- To access the discount you will be need to enter the discount code provided and complete a short survey and commit to a follow up survey in 6 months.
For more information download our Composting at Home guide (PDF) or visit the Compost bins and worm farms page on the Merri-bek Council website.
Join Peels to compost with others in your neighbourhood
Peels connects folks with food scraps to neighbours who compost and are happy to accept the scraps. It’s a free community run digital platform.
Peels can help residents (and even cafes) to either dispose of their food waste in a sustainable way or receive additional supplies to feed backyard chickens and make compost to nourish their garden.
Coburg local? Connect with Pentridge Community Garden compost hub
Pentridge Community Garden in Coburg has a community composting hub which can be accessed during opening hours (usually Sunday mornings and whenever the gate is open) or any time if you are a Friend of the Garden member.
Find out more on the Pentridge Community Garden website or on the Pentridge Community Garden Facebook page.
Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) weekly bin collection
Council provides a weekly kerbside collection service for household food scraps and garden waste.
You can put food scraps such as meat, dairy, citrus, bread, pasta and onion peelings in the green lid FOGO bin, along with grass, garden clippings and weeds.
Our organics processors turn this organic material into nutrient rich compost used by Victorian farmers and landscapers. This is why plastic bags or packaging (including compostable and biodegradable) cannot go into the FOGO bin.
Each year we also deliver compost back to local community gardens.
The FOGO service is helping cut climate pollution by keeping food waste out of landfill (where it breaks down to create methane, a powerful greenhouse gas).
Collect a kitchen caddy
Residents can collect a kitchen caddy from one of our customer service centres while stocks last, to store their food scraps prior to emptying them into their FOGO bin.
More information
The FOGO service is provided to all households paying the waste charge. Residents who do not have a FOGO bin can request one. For more information visit the Food and Garden Organics page on the Merri-bek Council website.
