Understanding Kempsey Shire's 'sort and save' three bin service

One of the most successful parts of the service is the green organics bin. The 240-litre green lidded food and garden organics bin is collected weekly and is available to residents and non-domestic premises in areas where Cleanaway provides a kerbside service.

The green bin is for all food and garden waste, even things you can't compost at home. By sorting all food and garden waste into the green bin, rather than the red bin, Council achieves both financial and environmental savings for our community.

By keeping heavy compostable wastes such as food out of landfill, Council has been able minimise the impact of rising landfill disposal costs and the amount of waste levy paid to the State Government. Food waste in landfill also generates dangerous air and water pollution, and a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

As part of the waste service, all residents with a waste service received a free kitchen caddy with a roll of compostable liners. This caddy and bag system will help you collect, store and carry food-scraps from your kitchen to put straight into the green bin. This includes all meat, fish and bones, fruit and vegetable peels, leftovers and plate scrapings and tea bags and coffee grounds.

To order replacement rolls of bin liners for the caddy, call the Waste Hotline on 1300 342 207 and these will be delivered to your property.

Council's website contains lots of handy hints and tips on how to manage your organic waste, what can go in the green bin and how to reduce food waste.  A frequently asked question about the waste service is where the pizza box goes.

Clean pizza boxes can be put in the yellow bin as cardboard recycling but if it's greasy, cheesy or with pizza still in it, deposit it in the green bin as compostable organics.