We began accepting food in our green bins from July 2019, creating our Food and Garden Organics Service. In just over 1 year we have saved over 14,000 tonnes of food and garden waste from landfill. That’s the same weight as 3,500 elephants.
Instead of all that food and garden waste sitting in landfill – creating greenhouse gas emissions – it’s now transformed into compost. Victorian farmers and local community gardens use this compost to grow food we can eat.
Brunswick West resident Tony has put his food scraps in his green bin since the start of the Food and Garden Organics Service and is finding the service convenient. He was recently able to downsize his household garbage bin to an 80 litre bin.
“I only have 1 bag of rubbish a week now,” Tony says.
The main improvement Tony would like to see is something to manage the smell. He says if the bin was picked up more often it would help reduce the smell from food waste sitting in the bin for a fortnight, especially over the summer.
Tony’s main reason for deciding to use the new system was convenience. When he found out his food and garden waste was being turned into compost for farmers – and that his actions were benefitting the environment – Tony was surprised. “If I can do that too, that’s great.”
At the other end of Merri-bek, Melanie and Muamer recently moved to Gowanbrae and were excited to hear the Food and Garden Organics Service had started in Moreland. Keen to do more for the environment, their caddy lives in the kitchen, as a handy reminder to separate their food scraps.
“It’s slotted into the way we live our life, so it’s a no brainer,” Melanie says. “Doing every little bit for the environment adds up”.
Why our Food and Garden Organics Service?
We’re working towards the target of zero waste to landfill by 2030. Introducing our Food and Garden Organics Service and diverting over 1,000 tonnes of food and garden waste each month is a great step.
Learn more about our food and garden organics service here: moreland.vic.gov.au/foodandgarden
