A lucky 1500 households situated in Lara, will be the first in the Geelong Region to take part in a year long study and trial using Food waste bins beginning next month. Council are confident that residents will embrace the trial, but that’s not the word on the street.
Lara Resident Samantha Briggs says:
“Residents already have Green waste, recycled waste and everything else waste, now they also want people to sort more garbage and add a food waste bin. Why not just get them to dig a hole in the yard and bury it themselves? Or even better, let’s all own pigs to eat the food waste, cheaper and less time consuming”.
Selected households will receive a 60 litre orange lidded food waste bin, a small bench top caddy and certified compostable caddy liners late October.
Statistics show that food waste accounts for 34 per cent of an average households bin and is one of the main causes of greenhouse gas emissions. The units will allow council workers to process up to 2000 tonnes of food waste each year, that’s 2000 tonnes less landfill to contend with.
But if your looking at anyone to point the finger, don’t blame the council, this genius idea comes from state level, and it has been mandated that all councils must implement food waste collection before 2030.
Council will keep tabs on the trial and do a full evaluation in late 2022. Plans will go ahead with gradually introducing the bins to other parts of Greater Geelong in 2023, with the vision of the entire municipality being on board early 2024.
Councillor Belinda Moloney said the initiative would help the environment whilst also creating a valuable resource. Instead of food waste ending up in landfill, it can be processed into compost and used in public parks or by farmers to grow more food.
The cost of the trial will be passed onto Council with an estimated $150,000 set aside.
