Fruit and veg scraps to go in new garden waste bin from September

Raw fruit and vegetable scraps are likely to be included in Council’s new garden waste service, to be rolled out to the majority of urban houses from September.

The recommendation comes as a result of a trial of adding fruit and vegetable scraps to the garden waste bin, involving 1000 homes that already receive the garden waste bin service. 

The trial, held from October to December 2016, showed that 98% of residents interviewed supported the move. 

90% of residents said they had no issues and there was a very low level of bin contamination.

92% of people interviewed said that they thought it was important to get fruit and vegetable waste out of general waste, and many said they wrapped their fruit and vegetable scraps in newspaper before putting it in the garden waste bin.

Noosa Council’s waste and Environmental Health Manager Wayne Schafer said “Including fruit and vegetable scraps in the garden waste bin adds no cost to Council and it is sanctioned by the Department of Environment.

“It further reduces how much organic waste we send to landfill, and therefore how much greenhouse gas we are producing.

“Adding fruit and vegetable scraps to the garden waste bin from September 2017 is consistent with the Community Jury’s recommendations to reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfill and it also saves on landfill space.

“It is another step along the journey towards zero organic waste sent to landfill. We all benefit in the long run and so does the environment, he said.”

For more information about the new garden waste bin service please visit Council's website.

1 March 2017