On average in our shire, 40% of what’s going into household landfill (general waste) bins is organic, and most of that organic waste is from the kitchen. When food waste ends up in landfill it creates methane, a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide.

When our FOGO service starts you'll be putting all food waste in the green bin with your garden clippings. Then we will take it to an industrial processor who will compost the organic matter.

This means less waste will be sent to landfill, and the food will be turned into a resource – compost – that will be used by farmers.

Read the results of the Anglesea pilot

Once the service changes you will no longer dispose of organic material (including food) in your landfill (general waste) bin. All organic material will instead go into the organics bin. This includes:

• Food organics like fruit and vegetable scraps, citrus, meat, bones, seafood, dairy, bakery products, egg shells, grains and cereals, mouldy and expired food, tea leaves and coffee grounds.
• Garden organics like lawn clippings, leaves, twigs, small branches, weeds, and flowers.
• Other organics like compostable caddy liners (supplied by Council), tissues, paper towel, pet poo, and shredded paper.

There will be a change in the frequency of bin collections:

• Organics (green waste) bins will be collected weekly for urban residents and fortnightly for rural properties
• Landfill (general waste) bins will be collected fortnightly
• Recycling (yellow lidded) bins will continue to be collected fortnightly
• The new glass (purple lidded) bins will be collected every four weeks

Ratepayers will get a collection calendar closer to the start date, and it will be available to everyone on our website as well.

Here's what the collection frequency will look like with the new service:

Great! You will find this compliments your system because you can use your kerbside organics bin for things you might avoid putting in your compost or worm farm, like:

• dairy
• meat
• bones
• bread
• grains
• citrus
• kitchen oils
• pet poo

Using the liners is optional, but we will provide some to help you with the transition to the new service.

The liners are certified commercially compostable and made from corn, which is safe to compost and will not contaminate the food and garden organics collection.

You'll only be able to use the following brands:

• Cardia (supplied by Council)
• Compost-a-pak
• Biotuff

Other bags, including plastic, degradable, or biodegradable bags, must not be used as they will contaminate the collection of organic material. When we find other brands that meet the correct standard we will update our website to include them in the list.

Waste can be prone to odours in high temperatures, during the festive season or if the bin lid is not completely closed.

It’s unlikely that simply sorting waste differently, for example by placing food scraps into the organics bin instead of the landfill bin, will create additional odours.

When food scraps are contained in the compostable liners provided by council, or in newspaper, it is likely to reduce odour. A mix of garden and food waste will also help keep odours under control in your kerbside bin.

Your kerbside organics bin will be collected weekly in urban areas, which will also help to manage smell.

Once the program starts you might want to consider some of these methods for preventing odours:

• Use the compostable liners that we will provided with the kitchen caddy.
• Wrap large or particularly smelly organics in newspaper.
• Close the lids tightly on both the caddy and the kerbside bin.
• Keep kerbside bins in the shade.
• Keep your kitchen caddy out of direct sunlight.
• Mix food organics with garden waste.
• If it becomes an issue, you can sprinkle vinegar, bi-carb soda, charcoal or eucalyptus oil in your organics bin or kitchen caddy to absorb and dissipate odours.
• Wash/hose your bin out occasionally.

Broken glass contaminates paper, cardboard, plastic and metal making them less valuable and more difficult to recycle. Keeping glass separate has a huge impact on the quality of other recyclable materials, and will help create a more resilient and environmentally responsible collection service for our community.

We know that having space to store a new bin can be a concern for some people, but putting glass in the recycling bin will no longer be an option. You cannot opt out of the glass bin service, even if you choose not to use the bin.

You know your property best and may need to re-assess or reconfigure your current bin storage area to accommodate the fourth bin. Contact us if you want to get some ideas for ways to store your bins on your property.

If you live in a multi-unit residence with a body corporate you might benefit from a shared bin arrangement. We'll be working with the representatives of your properties to determine the best set up for you.

The fourth bin, for recycling glass, will be collected every four weeks.

We did a trial of the bin size and four week collection in October 2019 and for most people it was the right frequency.

We know that in some households the bin for glass will hardly have anything in it after four weeks.

We also know for others it will be overfull (especially if you've had an event during that time). If you find you have too much glass, talk to your neighbours about the extra space they might have in their bin, or you can bring up to 0.5m³ to the transfer station free of charge.

Here's what the collection frequency will look like with the new service:

In light of the issues around the world due to Covid-19, we have postponed the change to the waste collection service. It is still going ahead in early 2021. To stay in the loop, sign up to receive our online newsletter.

Once the new service starts, your organics bins will be collected weekly, your recycling and landfill bins will be collected on alternating fortnights, and your glass bin will be collected every four weeks alongside your recycling collection.

Continue to use your current bins as usual until the new collections start.

Do not put food waste in your green bin before that time.

In light of the issues around the world due to Covid-19, we have postponed the change to the waste collection service. It is still going ahead. To stay in the loop, sign up to receive our online newsletter.

We will deliver a new wheelie bin for collecting glass to every house before the service changes.

Homes outside of Anglesea will also receive a kitchen scraps caddy and pack of compostable liners at the same time.

Before the service starts, ratepayers will receive a new collection calendar in the mail, and the calendars will be available on our website for non-ratepayers.

Sign up on our enews mailing list to get updates (including more specific dates when we have them) delivered to your inbox.

You might like to ask a neighbour or friend to put your bins out and back in during that week.

We are not allowed to access your property, and since we are delivering to around 18,000 houses, we can’t make the switch by appointment.

Cleanaway, our collection contractor, is remodelling their collection schedule based on the number of properties, efficiency of trucks and resources, and an increased number of collections.

This will affect a small percentage of properties as the borders of the collections areas will shift slightly.

The change will still happen on 1 July 2020 even though we have had to temporarily postpone the project. If you are affected you will be getting a letter in the mail.

When the new service starts, your landfill (general) waste in urban areas will go to a fortnightly collection (the current frequency in urban areas is weekly). Rural areas will remain at fortnightly.

This change can feel scary at first, but remember: all the food waste you used to put in your landfill bin will now go into the organics bin, which will be getting collected weekly in urban areas.

Kerbside landfill bins in the shire contain around 40% organic waste (including food and garden organics), and 16% recyclable items. Putting these things in the right bins will save space and reduce smell in your landfill (general waste) bin.

We all need to be conscious of the waste we generate and how we manage it. We know there will be some initial adjustment, but we will share tips and tricks on this website to make it work for your household.

If you discover that the new service isn't enough for your household, even with the tips we recommend, you can get an additional bin for a fee.

Here's what the collection frequency will look like with the new service:

Nappies will continue to go into your landfill bin, which will be collected fortnightly.

Some tips to help manage nappy smell in your kerbside landfill bin:

Waste service charges are recalculated each new financial year in line with changes to the recycling market and EPA landfill levies, and this year will be no different.

We are still working out contracts and budgets, but will update this page with the cost changes as soon as we can.

Sign up on our enews mailing list to get updates delivered to your inbox.

As a part of Council’s commitment to a more sustainable waste and recycling system, we will change any dark green landfill bin lids to red.

This is to bring bin lids in line with the Australian Standard for Mobile Waste Containers.

We know, both from our residents and from other councils, that having a "lime green" lid on the organics bin and a "dark green" lid on the general waste bin can add to the confusion about what goes where. Making the lids red, green, yellow and purple will make it easier for us to communicate about your bins with you.

No. This is our new waste service and it requires everyone to have the correct items in the correct bins. This requires the use of all four bins.

We will be removing the locks but will replace them with straps so your bin lid will stay secured.

We will have resources on our website and are working with real estate agents to help people with holiday homes ensure their guests understand the waste collection system. If you still have questions, please get in touch so we can help you find what will work best in your home.

Residents of properties that are classified as rural have a choice of whether or not to use Council's kerbside waste collection service.

If you choose to use Council's service, you will be using the new four bin system.

If you choose not to use Council's service, you will need to manage your own waste, and will not receive a waste charge. Here are some ideas on how to manage your own waste:

• Compost your own food and garden organics on your property.
• Feed food waste to pets of livestock.
• Engage a private company to collect your waste.
• Take your waste to the transfer station.