Council is giving away bags of free, high-quality compost and seeds at the Raleigh and Dorrigo Waste Management Centres to encourage residents to use their green bins.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bellingen Council is one of a small group of councils around the state that provide their communities with the ability to recycle all organic waste to compost. Unlike the compost bin in your backyard, the Biomass system can handle dairy, seafood, meat and bones, onion peels and pizza boxes.
Other things that can go into your green bin include:
. Food scraps including shellfish, coffee grinds, egg shells and dairy,
. Garden clippings such as small branches, sticks leaves and flowers, and
. Soiled paper such as paper towel, tissues and newspapers.
Last year 1,525 tonnes of material were turned into compost. This creates benefits through reduced greenhouse emission and has a financial benefit as well. Landfill space is expensive to create. When organic material goes into landfill it reduced the capacity of the site, which leads to higher cost to ratepayers. Council then also must pay a Landfill Levy to the NSW Government, another cost which in turn has to be passed onto ratepayers.
Waste audits show that 30 per cent of waste going into the red bins are food scraps that could be used in creating compost. This means each year over 400 tonnes of waste could be diverted to a much more environmentally friendly path, creating a popular product that is in high demand.
Council uses this product when it is undertaking landscaping projects because of all the benefits it creates. The high demand for this product means that the compost is being reused locally, creating more benefits. Processing this waste into compost creates local jobs and avoids the environmental costs of transport.
By ensuring all garden and food scraps are put into the green bin, community members can reduce their environmental impact and help keep the costs down for the waste management service. It will also allow more high quality compost to be generated from the Biomass facility, helping gardeners across the shire.