Greater Shepparton City Council is distributing new green compostable waste bags across the region throughout February.
A complimentary roll of compostable bags, to be used in the kitchen caddy, will be delivered to all households with a green-lid bin.
Some residents might still receive a roll of purple bags; however, both green and purple bags can be used to place food waste into the green-lid bin.
With the rollout of the bin collection frequency changes last year, appropriate waste disposal in the kerbside bin system has become a significant focus for the region.
Council has achieved excellent results in diverting waste from landfill, thanks to residents demonstrating a commitment to improving waste management by taking extra care in sorting and placing waste in the correct bins since the rollout began in 2016.
Council director of infrastructure Gary Randhawa acknowledged the great work the community had done to help reduce waste in landfill.
“The delivery of compostable bags has significantly contributed to the success of composting in our municipality,” he said.
“Composted material improves the health and productivity of soil while importantly contributes to removing organic material from landfill.”
Mr Randhawa said the compostable bags met strict Australian standards and were specifically designed to break down in the composting process.
“Please only use these council-provided bags in your kitchen caddy and green-lid bin. Keeping contamination low is important as it ensures we fully reap the benefits of the service,” he said.
“Changing the colour of the compostable bags from purple to green will make it easier for people to identify where this item goes: green bag into the green-lid bin.
“I encourage residents to keep up the good work and help us work together to reduce waste to landfill and protect our environment.”
Residents who don’t have a kitchen caddy and wish to acquire one can visit Greater Shepparton City Council at 90 Welsford St, Shepparton, and request one at customer service.
For more information on what can and can’t go in the green-lid bins, visit shepp.city/greenlid
If you don’t receive your roll of bags by the end of February, contact the council’s customer service team on 5832 9700 or email council@shepparton.vic.gov.au