If you prefer to view this information on your PC or laptop, rather than on your mobile, simply copy and paste this web page address (www.yoursay.geelongaustralia.com.au/foodwaste) into an email and send to yourself. Then open that email and link on a device of your choosing.

Sending food waste to landfill is problematic as it creates methane (a potent greenhouse gas), leachate (which can pollute soil and water) and results in a loss of a valuable resource. Food waste can instead be collected to create compost or renewable energy, which is a much more sustainable solution for our community and for the environment. This will also help drive a more circular economy.

During the development of the City’s Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2020-30, we received strong support from the community for a food waste collection service. The Victorian Government has also mandated that local councils implement a local food waste collection service by 2030.

Based on the feedback and learnings from this trial, the City will then roll out a new food waste kerbside service to the Geelong region. This initiative is an important service to help reduce waste from landfill and drive a more circular economy.

To help develop the City’s future waste service model, about 1500 households in Lara have been selected to trial a new weekly food waste kerbside collection service. Lara has been chosen as a suitable representative example for the Geelong community.

The trial will commence on Friday 5 November 2021 and will now run through to 30 June 2023.

There is no additional cost for this trial service.

To take part in the trial, council has delivered your home the following:

• an additional kerbside 60L food waste bin (with an orange lid)(Note - some Court/Place/Mews properties will receive a 120L bin instead to enable easier collection)
• a 7L benchtop kitchen caddy (made from 100% recycled plastic)
• a one-year supply (150) certified compostable caddy liners (made from 100% corn starch - not plastic)
• trial education materials

Just follow these simple steps:

1. Read over the food waste trial education materials
2. Line your kitchen caddy with one of the compostable liners
3. Store your caddy in a handy and cool location on the benchtop eg. where you prepare food
4. Fill the caddy with ALL food waste
5. Change the liner 2-3 times per week or when full - by lifting the liner out, tieing it up, and dropping it in to the kerbside food waste bin with the orange lid. The liner does not need to be changed daily if not full.
6. Put your food waste bin out for collection weekly - alongside your waste bin.

The trial properties will retain their existing kerbside bins – 140 litre rubbish (red) bin, 240 litre recycling (yellow) bin and 240 litre garden (green) bin.

Food waste collected will be processed at our Anakie Road Composting Facility into compost for use on parks and local farms.

The orange bin food waste collection provides a solution for collecting ALL cooked and uncooked food waste, including items that aren’t ideal for chooks, in a worm farm or home compost. In this service we accept all food waste, including seafood, meat, bones, fats, oils, dairy, processed foods, onion, chilli, citrus, garlic etc. Pizza boxes are also accepted. And paper towel and newspaper is also accepted too, but they must not contain chemicals or cleaning products.

This food waste collection service is therefore complementary to having chooks and home composting solutions – so both can be used together.

For a full accepted items list visit the 'Documents Library' section below and read over the 'A to Z Accepted Items List'.

This bin is for food waste only - meaning the item must have once lived or grown eg. meat or carrots. Paper and cardboard are the only non-food exceptions - but they are made of trees - that were also once grown as trees.

Please DO NOT put any of the following items in your orange bin - as they will contaminate the bin and may result in the bin contents being sent to landfill:

• Plastic bags
• Biodegradable bags
• Cling film/wrap
• Soft plastic food wrappings
• Hard plastic food packaging
• Plastic coated paper or cardboard
• Waxed cardboard
• Polystyrene
• Glass bottles
• Glass jars
• Tins
• Cans
• Foil
• Nappies
• Baby wipes
• Cigarette butts

Thank you for helping keep contamination out of the orange bin.

Your food waste is still being collected weekly and is contained in a liner, just as it was before the trial. Therefore, there is no reason for the orange bin to smell any more than the red bin did previously. However, with warmer weather approaching, there is always more we can all do.

Here are some tips to help you on your way:

• Store your kitchen caddy in a cool place e.g. a shady bench, under the sink or in the fridge.
• Collect your food waste in the supplied green certified compostable caddy liner.
• Change the liner 2 to 3 times per week.
• Always tie up the liner at the top before putting it in the orange bin.
• Keep seafood and meat scraps in the freezer until the night before your collection day, and then transfer them into your orange bin ready for collection.
• If possible, always store your orange bin in the shade.
• Store the orange bin well away from windows, doors, and well used areas.
• Do not overfill your bin – this will prevent your bin lid closing.
• Make sure your bin lid closes securely and that there are no cracks in the bin lid or sides. If your bin is broken, contact the City to request a bin repair or replacement.
• Always put your orange bin out for a weekly collection – no matter how little is in your bin.
• If needed - you can use bicarbonate of soda to absorb and neutralise smells. This can be sprinkled directly into the caddy or bin. Please don’t use any synthetic/chemical products.

1. Always leave your orange bin out on the kerb on Fridays until 5pm.
2. If you bin is not emptied by 5pm Friday - call our call centre by midday Monday on 5272 5272 (always best to call for missed orange bins).
3. Missed orange bins get collected in Lara on Tuesday mornings first thing – so please make sure your orange bin is out on Monday night.

This process is in line with all your others bins and the regular missed bin process.

Tip - to prevent your orange bin being missed - ensure your orange bin is visible to the driver from the direction that the truck approaches, ie, place at the far right of your other bins out for collection.