What goes in my food and garden waste bin?

Green lid garden organics bin

You can now put unpackaged food waste in your food and garden waste bin. 

Food and garden waste bins are collected fortnightly, on alternate weeks of your yellow mixed recycling bin.

This is an optional 'user-pays' service. As part of the service, residents can collect free liners and a bench top kitchen caddy. 

Alternatively, you can put food waste straight into your food and garden waste bin. If purchasing liners yourself, make sure you choose liners that won't contaminate food and garden waste. We can only accept liners that are lime green, certified 100% compostable and meet the Australian Standards (AS4736). Look for products displaying the 'Seedling' symbol.

What can be collected

  • loose and unpackaged food waste such as meat scraps and bones, seafood, citrus, bread, cakes, sweets, rice, leftovers and egg shells (all packaging must be removed including stickers on fruit and vegetables)
  • flowers (unwrapped, no packaging)
  • weeds
  • leaves
  • shrubs
  • garden prunings 
  • grass clippings
  • small branches and twigs (no more than 10cm in diameter and 30cm in length)

What cannot be collected

  • dirt, soil or turf
  • general waste
  • kitty litter or animal waste
  • Animal beds and toys
  • coffee pods and tea bags
  •  Biodegradable compostable and degradable cups cutlery, plate or containers, cutlery, bags or containers crockery (even if it is compostable or biodegradable, as they are not accepted at the Organics Processing Facility) –
  • cigarette butts or ashes
  • large branches or twigs (more than 10cm in diameter and 30cm in length)
  • glass or metal
  • large logs or stumps
  • nappies and baby wipes
  • packaged food or food packaging
  • plastic and plastic bags
  • hazardous or medical waste
  • building materials or trade waste
  • vacuum dust
  • items that prevent the bin lid from completely closing.

Waste placed into your Food and garden waste bin is turned into compost that is used on Victorian farmers crops and by garden suppliers.

Keeping contamination out of the food and garden waste bin ensures that farmers and garden suppliers are buying a high quality compost and sustains the end market buyers who buy this product.

If in doubt, leave it out of your bin, or check our Waste and Recycling Directory for more information.

Back to top