Lithgow’s new, green bin service is off to a great start. Collections started last week and the laneways and streets were lined with green bins as households made the most of the new food and garden waste collection service.
The new green bins take food and plant waste to be recycled into compost instead of going to landfill.
The green bins take all types of food waste including dairy, cereals, eggs and eggshells, meat and bones, seafood and fish bones, fruit, vegetables raw and cooked leftovers.
The green bins also take plant material including grass clippings, leaves, flowers, twigs and small branches up to 40cm long and 5cm in diameter.
The kitchen caddy is the mini-bin, that arrived with the green bin. Use this to make it easier to collect food scraps and carry them outside, to tip straight into the green bin.
Residents are reminded that not lining the kitchen caddy is the preferred option. If you do want to line your kitchen caddy, the only liners that can be used are compostable liners, with the seedling logo and marked AS4736 for commercial composting.
Small amounts of newspaper or officer paper can also be used to line the kitchen caddy to help transfer food waste to the kerbside bin.
Compost made from the contents of green bins will be used to improve soil health on farms and in public spaces, so it’s very important that only food and plant waste and permitted liners are disposed of in green bins.
Paper bags, plastic bags, containers and other packaging are not allowed as these items contaminate the compost and can spoil the soil.
Food and garden waste from Lithgow’s green bins are being taken to the ANL organics recycling facility in Blayney to be processed into high-quality compost that will be used to grow more food.
The new green bin service provides households with a way to dispose of their food and garden waste that means it can be recycled. This service is supported by the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA), through ‘Go FOGO’ grant funding.
For more information visit Council’s website https://council.lithgow.com/waste-recycling/fogo/