Our kerbside bins are changing

Mitchell Shire residents will be able to put their food scraps and garden clippings in a kerbside bin and access a glass recycling service from 2025 under changes to Council’s waste services.

These changes are in line with the State Government’s legislation that requires Victorian Council’s to provide a four-bin system to all households by 2030.

The four-bin system will see waste separated into mixed recycling, food and garden organics, glass recycling, and general rubbish.

With the introduction of these two new services in Mitchell Shire, which includes a weekly food and garden organics kerbside collection, Council will be scaling back the general rubbish to a fortnightly service.

This model has seen the most success in diverting waste from landfill and has been adopted by several councils including: the Shire of Strathbogie, City of Greater Shepparton, Shire of Macedon Ranges, Shire of Nillumbik, Monash City Council, Knox City Council, Bass Coast Shire Council and the City of Banyule.

Waste to landfill accounts for 75 per cent of Mitchell Council’s greenhouse gas emissions.

When food breaks down in landfill it creates methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than CO2.

A recent audit found more than 65 per cent of kerbside waste going to landfill in Mitchell could be recycled or composted, significantly reducing our greenhouse gas emissions.

Broken glass in the recycling bin makes other items like cardboard, paper and plastic hard to recycle. By putting your glass bottles and jars in a separate bin, more of these materials can be recycled into new things.

Council needs your help to understand the best four-bin option for Mitchell growing community and will be asking for input in coming weeks.