Kyneton and Macedon residents can now put fruit and vegetable waste into their green waste bin after Macedon Ranges Shire Council approved an expansion of its garden waste service.
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About 25 percent of what goes in to garbage bins in the Macedon Ranges is food waste according to council data.
When it ends up in landfill this waste creates harmful greenhouse gases.
Vegetable and fruit waste put in the bins will instead be processed with the garden waste and turned into compost.
MRSC introduced the change after looking at the amount of food in rubbish bins, according to acting director of assets and operations Anne-Louise Linder.
“It really highlighted that something needed to be done to reduce this,” she said.
“Expanding the kerbside garden waste service is a good start, but we’ll be doing more to encourage people to reduce the amount of food we waste as well.”
“We know many people produce compost at home from food waste or feed their fruit and vegetable waste to chickens and other animals, and we encourage them to continue that good work.”
Collecting and composting fruit and vegetable scraps would not only reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, but also highlight the importance of trying to reduce food usage, Ms Linder said.
The council is also developing a community education program to help residents learn how to reduce food wastage, to be implemented in 2019.
Food waste collection in the Macedon Ranges Shire Council will begin from November 1.
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