WHILE residents will not have the incentive of fortnightly red bin collections to cut back on their waste, trial results have indicated improvements are possible with a little help.
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The trial, commissioned by Orange City Council between September and December, included 139 households that kept a waste diary and 20 of them had their bins audited twice and were taken on tours of the Ophir and Euchareena facilities.
At the start of the waste trial, consultants EnviroCom found 76 per cent of waste in red bins was correctly placed and of the 24 per cent meant for other bins, 71 per cent of it was food and garden waste.
With the help of pamphlets and one-on-one advice, the amount of organic waste in the red bins was halved by the end of the trial and the overall mass was cut by 23 kilograms.
Seventy per cent of the trial bins were put out weekly during the 12-week period, but 59 per cent were half full or less.
Most households’ yellow bins were full every fortnight and some indicated they put recyclables in the red bin because their yellow bin was full.
While survey results at the start of the trial revealed 39 per cent support for a fortnightly collection, it became 58 per cent by the end.
By comparison, the 1000 bins sampled across Orange, which were not part of the trial, revealed 55 per cent of the material in the red bins should have been placed in either the green or yellow bins.
The report recommended education programs to target crushing containers to boost how much residents can fit in the yellow bin, change shopping behaviours to reduce packaging, storing excess recycling from peak periods to throw out in future weeks, using grass clippings to layer the green bin to cut odours, purchasing odour control products, using nappy bags to store soiled nappies and storing bins in the shade during winter.
While councillor Jason Hamling was grateful he could keep a second yellow bin and pay $1.95 for the extra collection if needed, councillor Neil Jones said it would be a challenge.
“We have to continue diverting waste from landfill - it’s up to us to bring the community on side to use the green and yellow bins,” he said.
Councillors voted unanimously to keep red bin collections weekly as part of a 10-year waste management contract with JR Richards and Sons.
danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au
