Filling in the gap

Hume mayor Cr Naim Kurt with the green bins that will be rolled out to the remaining households between April and June (Damjan Janevski). 392679_01

Every household in Hume will be provided with a food and garden (green) bin this year, as it becomes part of councils standard kerbside waste service in July.

Council announced the update to its service in late February, which will allow residents to recycle their food scraps and garden clippings in their green bin, rather than send them to landfill.

Hume mayor Naim Kurt said this change will align with the state government’s recycling policy, which requires a mandatory food and garden service for all households by 2030.

“Currently, 40 per cent of Hume’s bin contents are food scraps, contributing to harmful emissions in landfills,” he said.

“Introducing the green bin service not only fights climate change but will also cut costs by reducing the $129.27 per tonne waste levy that council pays to the state government.”

“Through this initiative, food and garden waste will be transformed into soil conditioner that will benefit Victoria’s gardens and farms.”

This change will reduce emissions as when food and other organic material breaks down in landfill it creates methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

The new bins will be delivered to the remaining households between April and June this year, and nothing will change for households that already have a green bin.

Bin days and collection frequencies will remain the same. Garbage will still be collected weekly, and the green bins will be collected every two weeks, alternating with recycling.