Dispose of food scraps sustainably

What you need to do

If you’re taking part in the food scraps recycling trial

1. Use a kitchen caddy to store your food scraps until recycling time

   You can use any container with a lid to separate your food scraps in the kitchen, for example an empty ice-cream or plastic container.

   If you don’t want to keep your food scraps caddy on your kitchen bench, you could:

   • place it under the sink
   • attach it to the back of a cupboard door
   • keep it in your fridge.

   Take care of your kitchen caddy by:

   • wrapping sharp items like bones or prawn shells in paper towel to avoid piercing the compostable liner bag
   • placing a square of paper towel under the liner bag or in the liner bag to absorb moisture
   • washing your caddy regularly with warm soapy water – your caddy can also be placed in your dishwasher for easy cleaning.

If you’re not taking part in the food scraps trial

Try composting. It’s a great way to use food waste that may otherwise go to landfill. The compost you can create is good for the soil and very handy when growing your own food.

1. At-home composting

   • If you have a backyard, lay twigs or straw first, a few inches deep, to aid drainage and helps aerate the pile.
   • Add moist and dry ingredients alternately. Moist ingredients are food scraps, tea bags, seaweed, etc. Dry materials are straw, leaves etc.
   • Add manure to activate the compost pile and speeds the process along.
   • Keep it moist by watering occasionally.
   • Cover with anything you have, e.g. plastic sheeting or carpet scraps. This helps retain moisture and heat – 2 essentials for compost.
   • Turn the compost every few weeks.
   • Alternatively, you can buy a composter. Consider a rotating compost tumbler which makes it easy to mix the compost regularly.

2. Community composting

   • Your community composting project could be a compost bin in a community garden, a shared worm farm in an apartment block or school, or perhaps a compost system used by a group of local businesses.
   • Sydney City Farm hosts talks about composting and worm farming.
   • Before you get started, you need to show us a plan of management. You don’t need to start it from scratch, we’ve put together a plan of management template you can use.

Tips to avoid funky smells

• Keep your caddy out of direct sunlight to avoid odour and prevent flies.
• Keep the lid of your caddy closed when not in use.
• Let hot food cool down before putting it in your caddy.
• Keep meat and seafood sealed in a container in your fridge or freezer until the night before collection.
• Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda on the bottom of your caddy (and bin) to help absorb liquids and odours.
• Place a square of paper towel sprinkled with a few drops of vanilla essence under the liner bag in your caddy.
• Empty your caddy at least every 2 to 3 days and in warmer months, every 1 to 2 days.
• Position your maroon lid food scraps bin in a well-ventilated area out of direct sunlight.
• Ensure that the lid of your food scraps bin is kept closed at all times when not in use.
• Place your food scraps bin out for every collection even if the bin is not full.
• Keep your food scraps bin clean – rinse it out after collection.