Composting the right way

By Nicola Ceccato

Mar 7, 2022

Back to the earth: Operations manager John Wilson is passionate about composting and doing right by the environment. Photo by Megan Fisher

With Clean up Australia Day just gone, the topic of responsible bin use and rubbish disposal remains relevant.

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Since the inclusion of food organics to City of Greater Shepparton’s green lid bins in 2015, the region has seen approximately 47,000 tonnes of garden and food waste diverted from landfill.

The green bins — that take food organics and garden organics (also known as FOGO) — are collected every second week and taken to Western Composting Technology, north of Shepparton.

It is there the food is broken down and converted to compost and mulch which is then distributed wholesale across farms, orchards and nurseries.

Western Composting also services four other councils — Benalla, Strathbogie, Moira and Surf Coast shires.

One of the biggest issues that Western Composting faces when it comes to the composting process the wrong items in the FOGO waste bins.

Operations manager John Wilson said pot plants, fertiliser bags, nappies and garbage bags were common non-FOGO waste they had to remove from the green waste piles.

“Coffee cups are another really good example, there are a lot of compostable coffee cups now but nine times out of 10, the lid that’s on isn’t compostable,’’ he said.

"So they throw the whole cup in the bin and the lids don’t break down and they end up as a hundred pieces of plastic once they’re shredded.

“That’s why we try and encourage people to limit it to their food organics and green organics and don’t blur the grey line between what rubbish is compostable and what’s not.”

Sorting through: Workers at Western Composting work through the piles of newly delivered food and garden organic waste, picking up any items that aren’t compostable. Photo by Megan Fisher

However, this issue has improved over the years, according to Western Composting Technology director Nathan Dickens.

“25,000 tonnes of green waste comes through this facility each year and you’re looking at a contamination rate of about under one-and-a-half per cent for the year so it’s quite small and that’s from the Shepparton area,” he said.

Items which could be put in the green lid waste bin: any form of food scraps, e.g. seafood, meat, bones, fruit and vegetables, egg shells, tissues, paper towels, napkins, coffee grounds, tea leaves/bags, animal droppings and garden/lawn clippings.

For information on what could go into your green bin, visit Greater Shepparton City Council’s website.

To understand more about how your food is turned into mulch products, check out our video below which takes you through the process.