Food and garden waste (green waste)

Your next green bin collection date is

Look up collection days for other bins

Which one is the green waste bin?

The green waste bin has a lime-green lid and is collected every 2 weeks, on the alternate week to your recycling bin.

What you can put in your green waste bin

• Flowers 
• Garden prunings
• Grass clippings
• Leaves
• Small branches
• Weeds
• Fruit and vegetable scraps and peel (including citrus, onion and garlic) 
• Seafood and meat
• Raw bones
• Bread, pasta, rice, cakes and pastries 
• Dairy foods
• Eggs and egg shells 
• Coffee filter paper and grounds 
• Tea leaves (loose) 
• Cooking oil and fats (absorbed in paper towel or newspaper) 
• Nuts and seeds (including fruit stones such as mango and avocado) 

You can't put these in your green waste bin

• bags (hessian or plastic)
• clothes or shoes
• cutlery or plates
• general rubbish
• food packaging (including compostable/biodegradable)
• hazardous waste or chemicals
• large logs or stumps
• manure and animal waste
• cooked bones
• oyster shells
• medical syringes
• nappies or wipes
• plant pots
• recyclables
• rocks, stones, soil or potting mix
• stickers or rubber bands
• treated timber

Order a green waste bin

• All green bins ordered from 1 October 2020 come with the free 'food in green bin' starter kit, which includes a benchtop caddy. 
• Green bins are available in 2 sizes, the standard 240-litre and a new smaller 120-litre size. 
• If you are a ratepayer submit the online service request form below to order a green waste bin. 

Visit Order a bin to view fees and place your order.

If you rent, please contact your landlord to request this service.

'Food in green waste bin' starter kit

If you order a green waste bin service, or your household already has one, you will have received a free ‘food in green waste bin’ starter kit delivered to your home. Call us on 1300 787 624 if you haven’t received your starter kit.

The starter kit includes:

• a benchtop kitchen caddy to collect your food scraps
• welcome letter
• information flyer
• sticker for your kerbside bin.

Tips for using your food and green waste bin

Kitchen caddy tips

Odours and smells are common with food, but by following these tips you can minimise smells and put all your food and garden waste to good use with confidence.

• Let hot food cool down before putting it in your caddy.
• Keep your caddy closed and out of direct sunlight.
• Sprinkle bi-carbonate (baking) soda on top of food waste.
• Empty your caddy every 2-3 days and rinse it after each use. For a more thorough clean you can use dish detergent or pop it in your dishwasher.
• Freeze smelly or rotten food until the night before your collection.
• Food scraps can be collected loose in your caddy and placed loose in the green waste bin. If you prefer, you can line your caddy with:
  • newspaper
  • paper towel (1 to 2 sheets will do)
  • serviettes or paper napkins
  • dry garden leaves
  • compostable liners, AS4736 standard (look for the logo pictured to the right) available from our customer service centre. 

Green waste bin tips

• Add garden waste before food waste, to stop food sticking to the bottom of the bin.
• Layer food waste in between garden waste. This will help to reduce smells.
• Put your green bin out for collection each fortnight, even if it isn’t full.
• Keep your green waste bin in the shade.
• Do not overfill your bin; make sure you can close the lid properly.
• Let us know if your green waste bin lid is damaged, as a damaged lid won’t contain smells properly.
• Wash your bin out from time to time.

Get compostable liners for your benchtop caddy

There's no need to use liners in your benchtop caddy for food scraps, and it's a good idea to try avoiding them if possible, to reduce waste. But if you prefer to use them, they are available for free from our customer service centre or can be purchased from most supermarkets. Only buy liners with the AS4736 logo pictured below, as they are made from corn starch and break down fully during the composting processor. 

Please visit our customer service centre to pick up free compostable liners. 

If you can't visit in person, liners can also be ordered online, allow 2-3 weeks for them to arrive via Australia Post. 

• You won't be charged for the liners supplied by council.
• 75 liners will be supplied, lasting approximately 6 months. 
• Limited to one order per household every 6 months.   
• The liners are made from corn starch and break down fully during the composting process, as per the AS4736 standard.

What happens to my food and garden waste?

Your food and garden waste in the green bin is taken to Cleanaway’s South East Organics facility

It's then composted. As part of the process, the waste is decomposed using oxygen, which prevents the release of harmful substances and creates useful material to put back into the earth.

It is then turned into high quality soil conditioners to help grow food and gardens in Victoria.

Why using a green waste bin is good for the planet

If green waste goes to landfill, it decomposes without oxygen and produces gases including methane (which has a global warming potential 25 times greater than carbon dioxide).

Decomposition in this way also produces a liquid called leachate, which contains harmful substances and must be carefully managed.

Burning green waste releases air pollution and negatively impacts human and environmental health.

More info: Back to Earth website

Getting rid of extra garden waste

Hard waste collection 

You can get rid of larger amounts of garden waste using our bookable hard waste collection. Household in Cardinia Shire can book 2 free collections per calendar year. Garden waste must be bundled for these collections. 

Green waste drop-off days

We offer free green waste drop-off days at recovery centres on selected dates. Currently held twice a year.

Other ways to use up food waste

Composting and worm farms

Composting your food and garden waste is one easy way to reduce landfill and protect the environment. Plus, you will get to enjoy the benefits of using your own compost, and your garden will thank you for it! Cardinia Shire residents can start their home composting with the help of rebates and workshops.  

Share waste 

If you don’t have space for a composting system, or home composting isn’t for you, but you want to keep food out of landfill, you might have a neighbour who is composting or has animals to feed and is willing to take your food scraps.

Visit ShareWaste to find someone in your neighbourhood who's willing to accept food scraps , or register to start accepting food scraps.