My local council (Hobsons Bay) in Victoria already had a food scraps collection service, one of the first to introduce the system, and now one of Australia's biggest local council, the City of Sydney, is coming to the party.

Lord Mayor Clover Moore said that with food waste emissions making up around 4% of local greenhouse gases, changing the way we deal with it is essential.

“Food waste typically makes up more than a third of the rubbish we put in the red bin. It not only takes up valuable landfill space but releases methane gas as it decomposes,” she said.

“That methane is responsible for around 4% of the greenhouse gases released in our area. With the City of Sydney committing to hit net zero by 2035, it’s important to recognise and change the way we deal with organic waste.

“We’ve committed to our net zero by 2035 as overwhelming climate research tells us we cannot afford to take our time reducing carbon emissions in Australia. Emissions need to plummet now and every scrap of carbon counts.”

The City of Sydney is running a food scraps collection and recycling trial, available to more than 14,000 households, as well as helping to educate and support businesses committed to reducing their organic waste.

With funding support from the NSW government, the opt-in food scraps recycling trial is available to around 10% of the city’s households and diverts more than 11 tonnes of food waste away from landfill each week

In total, more than 685 tonnes of food waste have been diverted from landfill. The food scraps are sent to a composting facility, where they’re converted to compost for use on farms and gardens.

The City of Sydney makes it easy to participate in the trial. Once the results are reviewed, Council will consider how the foods scraps collection service can be rolled out across the area in 2022.

Do you already compost your food waste? Would you be likely to participate if your council started a trial? Have you contacted your local council about starting a food scraps collection service?