Residents of the Kiama municipality are seemingly proving it’s easy being green, red and yellow, boasting a significant drop in household waste going to landfill.
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Kiama council general manager Michael Forsyth said the drop in landfill waste was complemented by a strong increase in waste going to compost.
“This is great news for the Kiama community which has embraced the Organics Kiama service,” Mr Forsyth said.
“We began introducing the Organics Kiama service, where residents could place their food waste into their green (rather than red) bins, four years ago.”
As of July 2016, all residential zones now have the service.
Highlights include:
•76 per cent of all waste being composted or recycled (compared to 56 per cent prior to Organics Kiama);
•24 per cent of all waste going to landfill (compared to 44 per cent prior to Organics Kiama);
•6049 tonnes of waste were recovered (recycled or composted) an increase of 1839 tonnes.
“This shows people have adapted well to using their green bins for food waste,” Mr Forsyth said.
“Contamination from items such as plastic bags or coffee cups was only 0.26 per cent.
“This saves money paying to have non-compostable material removed at the processing end.”
Mr Forsyth said council checks of green (and yellow) bins were an important part of helping residents adjust to the Organics Kiama service.
Further information on Organics Kiama is available at the council website: www.kiama.nsw.gov.au.
