Kerbside bin inspections conducted earlier this year demonstrated that people with smaller general waste bins are more effective at diverting waste from landfill.
In the months of January and July 2024, Alpine Shire Council coordinated inspections of kerbside bins across the Alpine Shire to better understand how residents and visitors are disposing of their waste.
Alpine Shire Mayor, Cr Sarah Nicholas, said that this initiative assists Council to support waste diversion from landfill and facilitate improvements to recycling habits across the Alpine Shire.
"The results highlighted that properties across the Alpine Shire with 80L or 120L general waste bins used their Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) bins more regularly and proactively, thereby diverting more waste from landfill than properties with 240L general waste bins," she said.
"This was consistent across both the summer inspection, conducted in January 2024, and the winter inspection, conducted in July 2024, demonstrating that behaviours are similar in both peak visitation periods across both residential and holiday properties, including short-term rentals."
A key insight from the data revealed instances of reverse contamination across both inspection periods, where items placed in the general waste bin should have been diverted to FOGO or recycling bins.
Primary instances of contamination and reverse contamination included:
Items found in general waste that should be diverted to FOGO
- Food organics
- Recyclable and/or compostable paper
- Cardboard, including pizza boxes
- Other organics
Items found in general waste that should be diverted to recycling
- Plastic containers
Items found in FOGO or recycling bins that have caused contamination
- Soft plastic bags and plastic film (soft plastics should be cleaned and placed in Council-supplied orange recycling bags)
- Plastic bags filled with recycling (items should be removed from plastic bags and placed loose in the recycling bin)
- Plastic bags filled with FOGO (FOGO should be in Council-supplied FOGO bags or placed loose in the FOGO bin)
- Plastic bags filled with general waste (waste should be placed in general waste bin)
- Soiled paper in recycling bins (items should be placed in FOGO bin)
- Non-recyclable rigid plastic, including toys (items should be placed in general waste bin)
- Disposable coffee cups (items should be placed in general waste bin)
Contamination of FOGO and recycling waste means that the contents of that truck may be unable to be composted or recycled and must be sent to landfill.
Cr Nicholas thanked community members across the Alpine Shire for their adaption to the three-bin system.
"We understand that this has been a transition period to a different way of managing kerbside waste," she said.
"I'm really proud of the way that our community has embraced the introduction of more innovative practices and I thank everyone for their commitment to a more sustainable future."
For more information about kerbside bins, including what to put in which bin, visit https://halvewaste.com.au/
To register for the Local Soft Plastics Recycling Pilot program, visit Halve Waste online: https://halvewaste.com.au/soft-plastics-recycling-trial-sign-up/
The information collected for the bin inspections across January and July was analysed and reported in an aggregated form, with no individual or personal information captured or shared. Conditions of the inspection prohibited reporting of any specific details related to any individual household or personal information.