THE Southern Grampians Shire is committed to reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, and it is crucial for residents to dispose of items in the correct kerbside bins.

There are currently three dark green kerbside bins with different lid colours - garbage bins with red lids, recycling bins with yellow lids, and Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins with lime green lids.

All three bins are collected by the shire’s contractor, Wheelie Waste, and brought to the Hamilton Transfer Station for redistribution.

Items allowed in FOGO bins include all food waste (raw and uncooked); eggs and dairy; meat and bones; fruit and vegetables; bread and pasta; cooking oils; fried foods; eggshells; seafood shells; any food scraps including any unwanted leftovers; coffee grounds; tea bags and leaves; food soiled paper packaging; hair and tissues; pet faeces and hair; garden waste (prunings, weeds, small branches, grass clippings, dead flowers).

Items not allowed in FOGO bins include plastic; food packaging; nappies; garden hoses; rocks; tree stumps; plant pots; building material; soil; glass or metal; household rubbish; treated/painted/laminated or stained timber.

FOGO bins are brought into the station and aggregated, transferred to a bigger truck with a loader, then transferred to the Camperdown Compost waste facility to produce compost along with other industrial organic waste.

The controlled composting process begins at the Camperdown facility, where all the waste is held at 55-65 degrees Celsius for three months, and the material is mulched, mixed with other organic material, and moisture is added.

The set temperature pasteurises the compost and kills off the weeds and pathogenic organisms, while windrows are formed and microbial activity breaks down the material.

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