Green Lid Bin (Food/garden organics)

The trucks are unable to pick up bins over 100kg. Here are some tips to help you with weight.

Keep the bin weight down by:

• Don't fill the bin right to the top.
• Open the lid occasionally to allow the contents to dry.
• Avoid adding damp clippings. Let them dry out first.
• Don’t put soil or rocks in the green lid bin.
• More frequent mowing will reduce volume.
• Put the bins out every collection time, even if they’re not full.
• Think about splitting large amounts across two bin collections.
• Keep the size of twigs and branches less than 10cm thick

If your bin is filling up too quickly, you can:

• Contact Council to request a larger bin, or an additional bin (see our Cost Estimate Calculator)
• Take your excess to one of our Resource Recovery Centres (see Disposal Fees).

Your green lid bin will be collection every week. Find out when your bin will be collected.

Food and garden waste going into landfill causes harm to our environment through the production of methane gas emissions.

It also costs you money as a ratepayer. Council has to pay a levy to the State Government for every tonne of your waste that we bury in landfill. There is no levy to send our organic materials to be commercially composted.

Council's use of commercial composting services also supports local business, and the resulting commercial-grade compost can be used by local farmers and growers.

It makes sense to return our organic waste material back to earth, to help our environment and improve the home of our future generations.

In the 18 months since the commencement of the food and garden waste collection service in November 2015, Greater Shepparton residents composted 12,300 tonnes of food and garden waste - that’s the equivalent weight of 615 semi-trailer loads!

The kitchen caddy can be kept in your kitchen, lined with a green (formerly purple) compostable bag, and can be used to store your kitchen scraps and food waste. Once full, the bag can then be taken outside and placed in your green lid bin. It is recommended that the compostable bags are disposed of into the green lid bin every 2 or 3 days.

Here's what happens to your organic waste:

1. Your green lid bin is collected from the kerbside.
2. The truck travels to Western Composting Technology (located here in Shepparton – employing six full time staff to complete the composting process). Staff sort contamination by hand.
3. The organic waste is put into an in-vessel tunnel for 5 - 7 days, and the temperature gets up to 80 degrees just by adding water and air.
4. The organic waste is removed from the tunnel and shredded, left in piles and turned to continue the composting process for six weeks.
5. Compost is sent back to earth by a local grower or gardener.

“Follow Your Rubbish” tours are conducted on a semi-regular basis by our Waste Education Officer.  To register your interest in attending, email council@shepparton.vic.gov.au or call Council on (03) 5832 9700.

You can choose to place food waste directly into your green lid bin if you want, but the bags help to control odours and keep your kitchen caddy and bin clean.

When commercially composted they break down in 30 days or less, and don't leave harmful residues, as they are made from cornstarch and vegetable oils.

Please ONLY use the green (formerly purple) compostable bags provided by Greater Shepparton City Council. These bags are the only bags that will break down properly at the composting facility. Please don't use any other bags, even those labelled as "compostable", "degradable", or "biodegradable", because they aren't compatible with our composting process.

If you have run out of green / purple compostable liner bags, please visit the Council’s Customer Service Desk at 90 Welsford Street, Shepparton, where you will receive a roll free of charge.

A roll of compostable bags should last one year for most households if you dispose of the bags every 2-3 days. Council will deliver a complimentary roll of 150 compostable bags to each household every year during November - December.

Here are some important tips to prevent this from occurring:

• The bags should be stored in a cool, dark and dry place
• Allow hot food to cool before placing it in the bag
• Place a piece of paper towel in the bottom of the bag to soak up any liquid
• Allow wet food to drain before placing it in the bag

Here are a few quick and easy tips to deal with odours in the warmer weather:

• Excess moisture in your bin can make odours worse. Try to cut lawns when the grass is dry.
• If possible, leave garden waste out of your bin until just before collection day.
• Move your bins to a shady and well ventilated area.
• Layer your food waste with lawn clippings or dry leaves.
• Loosen the contents of the bin occasionally to aerate material and also to break up grass clippings that have become crusty. Wet grass clippings can form a crust that prevents contents leaving the bin during the collection process.
• Don’t overfill your bin - the green lid must be able to close.
• Place a piece of paper towel in the bottom of your green / purple compostable bags to absorb any liquid residue.
• Freeze meat, seafood and fruit scraps until the night before your bin collection.
• Tie up your green / purple compostable bag every 2 to 3 days (even if not full) and place in the green lid bin.
• The kitchen caddy is dishwasher safe. You can also keep it clean by washing it out regularly with baking soda, vinegar or mild detergent and warm water.

If you have any further questions please contact Council.