Food Waste Pilot FAQs
Why recycle food waste?
Why should food waste be diverted from landfill?
Why do we need this pilot?
What are the benefits of participating in the pilot?
What if my Council does not have a 3 bin system?
What happens with the pilot results?
How will the pilot be funded?
What are the advantages fortnightly waste collections?
Why are compostable bags used?
How can the concerns of families which use disposable nappies be addressed?
How do we deal with larger households and home businesses?
How important is a community information campaign?
Why recycle food waste?
The Zero Waste SA Kerbside Performance Incentives program has contributed to metropolitan Councils achieving a diversion rate in the order of 50% by separating green organics and dry recyclables. Audits indicate that almost half of what is now left in the waste bin is food waste. Further improvements in kerbside recycling are possible if local government is prepared to continue to introduce innovations in its waste management and recycling practices.
While recycling of food waste is important, more work needs to be undertaken to avoid and reduce the creation of food waste. Every year Australians throw out billions of dollars worth of fresh food, leftovers and frozen food. [Wasteful Consumption in Australia, The Australia Institute, 2005] When food is thrown out, the carbon generated in its production, transport and storage is also wasted.
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Why should food waste be diverted from landfill?
Food waste generally has a high moisture content and when breaking down the cell walls of this material release moisture. In a composting situation the food waste and other garden organics are blended together. During the break down process commercial composters use equipment to mechanically turn the material to allow oxygen into the breakdown process.
This oxygen allows the microbes in the the breakdown process to survive and continue the breakdown process in an aerobic (in the presence of oxygen) manner. During this breakdown process the by-products are compost, water (as vapour) and carbon dioxide. Compost is a valuable resource and has the ability to improve the agricultural and horticultural productivity of South Australian soils.
In a landfill the breakdown process of food waste begins in the similar manner to that mentioned above, but the process quickly changes. As the food organics break down the food waste loses its structure and becomes a soggy conglomerate. In a landfill these wet conditions quickly become anaerobic (without oxygen) and the breakdown process continues without oxygen. One of the by-products of anaerobic digestion/breakdown is the release of methane, a greenhouse gas which traps 20 times more heat than carbon dioxide.
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Why do we need this pilot?
Kerbside audit data and the JAC Comrie business case both indicate that food organics and fortnightly waste collections can be highly beneficial in combination with a 3 bin system. However, the configuration that Zero Waste SA wishes to pilot has not been tested i.e. food and garden organics collected with a fortnightly residual waste collection using a small 140 litre bin.Coffs Harbour Council currently collect their waste fortnightly (240 litre bin) and combine food and green organics collections, see http://www.coffscoastwaste.com.au/.
DC Mallala in South Australia has successfully operated a fortnightly waste service since November 1999. A trial co-collection of food organics with green organics was carried out in the City of Burnside in 2005-2006 using ventilated baskets lined with biodegradable corn starch bags. The trial, supported by Zero Waste SA with a grant of $75,000 demonstrated that it is possible to undertake such a collection and that community support for such service would be high.
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What are the benefits of participating in the pilot?
- Cost savings of $1 and $4 per household per annum where a Council already has a 3 bin system with a fortnightly collection of garden organics and reduces the frequency of the residual waste collection service to fortnightly.
- A diversion rate of up to 77% can be achieved, which meets the South Australia Waste Strategy target for 2010 (household waste).
- Reduced greenhouse gases – organic waste creates leachate and generates methane generation, a particularly damaging greenhouse gas.
- Contributing to the creation of a valuable resource – food waste is composted and helps to improve South Australia’s poor soils. Each year, more than 220,000 cubic metres of kerbside collected garden organics waste – 880,000 bin loads - is turned into compost in South Australia.
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What happens with the pilot results?
The results of the pilot will be used by Zero Waste SA to determine whether or not the option of food organics and a fortnightly waste collection could be made available to Councils as part of a new financial incentives program to be developed for 2008/2009 and beyond.
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What if my Council does not have a 3 bin system?
If a Council does not currently have a 3 bin system but is considering introducing one in the future, the Council can still apply to be involved in the pilot. Please contact Zero Waste SA to discuss your options before submitting the final Expression of Intent.
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How will the pilot be funded?
Zero Waste SA has a budget of $380,000 for 2007/2008. Zero Waste SA will fund the cost of:
- Kitchen receptacles (1 basket per participating household)
- Compostable bags (1 roll equivalent to 120 bags per participating household)
- Kerbside waste and recycling audits (2 per Council)
- Market research (focus group research to inform communications planning, and post-pilot householder evaluative research)
- Generic community communications materials for Councils to tailor to their own requirements.
It is expected that Council will pay for the following items:
- Distribution of kitchen receptacles and compostable bags
- Printing and distribution of community communication materials
- Management of enquiries and advice to participating householders
- Any and all other costs associated with conducing this pilot and
- Progression beyond the pilot phase.
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What are the advantages of collecting waste fortnightly?
Where a Council already has a 3 bin system with a fortnightly collection of garden organics it is estimated it would save between $1 and $4 per household per annum by introducing co-collection of food waste and garden organics and reducing the frequency of the residual waste collection service to fortnightly. A reduction in the 140 litre residual waste service from weekly to fortnightly results in a higher diversion of material into the combined organics service and increases recycling rates.
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Why are compostable bags used?
It is possible to introduce co-collection without providing compostable bags but this is not recommended. Such a system is likely to have less householder acceptance and consequently participation and diversion rates are less likely to be less. Some households could use plastic bags to dispose of food waste and therefore lead to significant problems with contamination of collection and processed material. The bags used in the Burnside Council trial were made from corn starch and were chosen for their full compostability.
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How do we deal with larger households and home businesses?
Councils will need to develop systems to address the needs of high occupancy households and home businesses which may need extra capacity. This could be provided as an additional bin, or a larger bin. Additional bins could be provided on a user pays basis, or have fees waived in particular situation – it is up to the Council to determine the most effective policy.
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How can the concerns of families which use disposable nappies be addressed?
This is one of the practical issues Councils will need to work through if they are considering incorporating a fortnightly residual waste collection as part of the pilot. The community education campaign could include information about how disposable nappies should not be a problem if the solids are first removed from the soiled nappy before it is tied up and placed in the waste bin. Councils could also consider providing a user-pays, or free weekly collection service – this is up to the Council to consider when it is designing its pilot.
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How important is a community information campaign?
A comprehensive community education campaign is important to the success and acceptance of the pilot by residents. For further information about communications planning refer to the guidelines document. The Burnside Council trial undertaken in 2005/2006 demonstrated the importance of a commitment to ensuring effective householder information and professionally produced materials. As part of its community information campaign, the Council provided trained customer service officers, a dedicated telephone inquiry line and held information sessions for residents.
Zero Waste SA will assist with the development of content for generic information materials such flyers, web sites, news articles and stickers. These materials can then be tailored to the Council’s requirements. View some of the materials produced by Burnside Council:
Bin lid sticker
Information brochure
Kitchen magnet – collection timetable
Letter to residents – start of trial
Letter to residents – completion of trial
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