Food waste recycling service: Managing my kitchen caddy

• You sure can.  

• It’s up to you whether you choose to use the caddy provided by Council, or your own container to capture food scraps. It’s important to use what works for your household.

Food and green waste will likely create odours, especially in high temperatures, during the festive season, when the waste material is wet, or if the bin lid is not completely closed. 

Here are some tips to help reduce bin odours: 

Kitchen caddy: 

• empty the caddy in your green lid wheelie bin at least every 1-3 days, and rinse after every use. The rinse water is great for your plants! 
• put your kitchen caddy in the dishwasher for a thorough clean. Use a second container to collect scraps while it’s in the dishwasher.  
• particularly smelly foods can be kept in the freezer and taken out on bin day. 
• wrap large or particularly smelly food scraps in paper towels or newspaper.  
• line your kitchen caddy with paper towels too. 
• keep your kitchen caddy out of direct sunlight 
• sprinkle vinegar, bi-carb soda, charcoal or eucalyptus oil in your kitchen caddy and green bin to absorb and dissipate odours. 
• place a half a glass of apple cider vinegar beside your caddy, and secure a plastic wrap over the glass with a rubber band, and poke a few holes in the top.  

• Having food in your caddy is like having food in your inside household bin, so treat it the same way – empty and rinse as needed. If you do this, you should have no increase in pests or flies. 
• Using an enclosed kitchen container with a close fitting lid, like the free caddies provided, should also help eliminate any potential issues. 
• Ensure your kitchen caddy and wheelie bins are not overfilled, that lids close tightly and are always closed when not in use. 
• Set-up an apple cider vinegar trap next to your kitchen caddy.  

No bags are to be used.  

What goes in your green bin is processed into compost and used by local farmers. There is no place in our farms for plastic bags.   

Why? 

• Not all compostable bags are made equal. They are made of various matter, such as potato or corn starch, and certain conditions must be right to break them down. These conditions are not always present during the recycling process.  
• Compostable bags are different colours, which makes it difficult for Council’s contractors to sort and separate compostable bags from plastic bags.  

By not using any bags, you are: 

• contributing to the production of high-quality compost material that is used by our local farmers and urban gardens. 
• reducing carbon emissions (compostable bags still need to be produced and transported to shops) 
• avoiding extra household costs. 

Bags can be avoided by:  

• using paper towelling or tissues to wrap smelly foods 
• placing your caddy in the fridge, or placing certain smelly foods in the freezer to take out on bin day 
• emptying your kitchen caddy every 1 – 2 days  
• hosing your caddy down after you empty your scraps in the green bin 

Not using bags also supports the waste principles for:  

• Queensland Government's ban on single-use plastic items  
• Queensland Government’s ban on single-use plastic shopping bags 
• Australia’s transition to a circular economy by turning waste into a resource. 

• As always, no plastic bags are permitted in green waste recycling bins. The food waste is still going to the same recycling facility – so still no bags.  
• A small amount of newspaper or brown paper towelling can be used to wrap your food if desired.