Food and Garden Organics

Your organics bin is now referred to as a Food and Organics bin.

You can now recycle both food and garden waste in this bin, which will allows you to:

  • free up space in your garbage bin
  • turn waste into compost
  • stop food ending up in landfill.

On average, your garbage bin contains 50% of food waste.

If every household in Hume composted or put their food waste into their organics bin instead of their garbage bin, we could save over 27,000 tonnes of food waste from landfill every year. This is equivalent to 2,500 garbage trucks.

Add FOGO to your bin service

Caddy

 Caddyexampleimage.png

A caddy makes it easy to collect food scraps as you prepare meals and clean up leftovers.

  • Keep the caddy on your kitchen benchtop
  • Once it's full, empty it into your food and garden organics bin.

Please do not use any bags or liners in your caddy, even if they are labelled 'compostable' or 'biodegradable'. These bags and liners cannot be processed through our facilities and will end up in landfill.

 Order your caddy

What goes in your FOGO bin?

One way to think about it is: if it didn't live or grow, it isn't FOGO.

  • All food leftovers (including meat and seafood)
  • Garden waste (including grass and small cuttings)

Remove any packaging from food waste (including things like fruit stickers) and dispose of it in the appropriate bin (garbage or recycling).

Put your food and garden waste into the bin loose - do not bag it. If you need to wrap smelly food scraps, use a small amount (1-2 sheets) of paper towel or newspaper. Do not use any other types of paper, and please keep it to a minimum.

It is essential to keep all plastic, metal and glass out of your FOGO bin. This includes bags or liners labelled 'compostable' or 'biodegradable'. This is because these bags and liners cannot be processed at our facilities and will end up in landfill.

More information on FOGO do's and don'ts

To prevent odours, you can wrap smelly food waste (like meat scraps) in a small amount of paper towel (1-2 sheets) or newspaper. However, please try to use as little paper as possible, and don't use any other types of paper (such as tissues).

Another option is to keep your food scraps in a container in the fridge or freezer until bin day so that they don't smell.

Please do not use any bags or liners to wrap food scraps, even if they are labelled 'compostable' or 'biodegradable'. These bags and liners cannot be processed through our facilities and will end up in landfill.

Some handy tips you can use to keep your bin and kitchen caddy fresh: 

  • Keep your bin and caddy out of direct sunlight.
  • Keep the lids closed when not in use.
  • Wrap your food waste in a small amount of paper towel (1-2 sheets only) or newspaper before placing it in your bin.
  • Keep smelly food waste (such as meat scraps) in the fridge or freezer until bin day.
  • Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on the bottom of your caddy and bin.
  • Layer your food waste with garden materials such as dried grass clippings and leaves.
  • Empty your caddy at least every 2 to 3 days, and in warmer months every 1 to 2 days.
  • Take your bin even if it's not full on your organics collection day.

Compost bins, worm farms, and Bokashi buckets are great and inexpensive ways to easily recycle your food waste. There are lots of composting options, what may be suitable for you depends on the space you have, the waste you have and how much time you want to invest.

We have partnered with Compost Community a free education program to make it easy for you to recycle your food waste. All the Information you need to start your journey it right here

Starting your home own compost

All Hume residents can enjoy a 70 per cent discount on compost bins, worm farms and bokashi systems.

To access discounted prices, all you need to do is:

  1. Join Compost Community
  2. Read about what composting system might be best for your household
  3. Order your product and will be delivered free.

 

Discounted products are only available to Hume residents (homeowners and renters). One composting system is available per household.

A limited number of products and discounts are available per year.

 

The best way to reduce food waste is to not create it in the first place. Better planning, smarter shopping and smart food storage are simple actions you can take to reduce avoidable waste.

The average household throws away around $2,200 each year in food, or approximately one in every five shopping bags of groceries. Most of this is food that otherwise could have been avoided and eaten.

You can save money and avoid food waste with some easy and practical steps at home and the grocery store.

 Planning your meals:

  • Meal planning for the week is easy and fun. This will help you buy the right amount of ingredients for the week so you can avoid unnecessary left-over ingredients.
  • Write, and stick to, your shopping list. This makes shopping less stressful and expensive too!
  • Check your fridge and pantry before you leave for the store – there might be ingredients you already have that you can use.

Storing food well:

  • Use clear containers or jars to store food, so you know what you have and it’s easy to see.
  • Keep food closer to their use-by closest to the front of your fridge or pantry, and within your line of sight.
  • Freezer stored food should be separated into portions so you can defrost what you need 

Cooking:

  • Use up any leftovers to create delicious new meals. Don’t let then sit in the fridge.
  • Use the whole vegetable or fruit when you can, including the skins! Think stalks and leaves of cauliflower, broccoli, and celery, and using the root to tip of herbs.

 

Hungry for more food waste resources?

Try our Compost Community

Find out more at Love Food Hate Waste.

Foodwise website & Sustainable Table

 

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