We’ve put together these top 10 tips to help you stop smells in your food and green waste bin.
1. Close the lid
It’s simple, but it helps. Keeping the bin lid closed will keep pests away and minimise nasty smells.
2. Use your general waste bin
If it’s not your green waste bin week, you can place smelly food in your general waste bin and have it collected sooner. At the start of summer Council announced that residents can now divert high odour food waste such as meat, fish, eggs and bones to the general waste stream during the warmer months.
The change was a result of listening to the community feedback that was gathered through October’s Kerbside Waste Services Review.
3. Keep it cool
Store your bin out of direct sunlight if you can, as heat can speed up odour.
5. Soak it up
Use stale bread, food-soiled paper or old newspaper to absorb excess moisture and avoid mouldy stuff getting stuck in the corners of your bin. You can wrap your food scraps in newspaper or line your bin with it.
6. Sprinkle some soda
If you find that bad odours linger in your bin, sprinkle baking soda inside.
7. And try a twist of lemon
If you have a small bin you can handle easily, rinse it out once a week with hot water containing a slug of tea tree oil or lemon juice, and then leave it to dry. Lemon juice is a natural odour remover.
8. Swap it out
Alternate food scraps with layers of leaves or lawn clippings to reduce odours.
9. Separate your steaks
Put high odour scraps like meat, fish or bones in the freezer until closer to collection day.
10. Eat more of your food
Write a weekly menu plan and make a shopping list, so you only buy what you need. Recycling food is great, but eating it is better.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why can’t I wrap my food waste in a biodegradable bag?
Council’s organics waste contractor does not allow biodegradable bags because they are not suitable for its processing system. Waste wrapped in any type of bags increases the risk of contamination as the content is not visible while sorting, hence adding significantly to the cost of service. To avoid this Council has allowed residents to wrap their FOGO waste with newspaper.
Why do we have a separate collection for organic waste?
HRCC switched to a four-bin system for urban residents last April as part of the Victorian Government’s statewide Circular Economy Policy.
Diverting organic waste from landfill is better for the environment and will help avoid future cost increases for everyone.
Why can’t my organics bin be emptied every week?
It would cost more. Council’s kerbside waste service runs on a cost recovery model and more collections equals added cost. A previous survey showed that the majority of HRCC residents preferred to move to fortnightly waste collections and therefore avoid the significant cost increases associated with a weekly service.
