Hobsons Bay City Council has conducted a large-scale trial, focusing on the use of compostable paper bags to help recycle food scraps.
Mayor of Hobsons Bay Peter Hemphill said the city-wide paper bag trial was one of many incentives Council was trailing to make it easier for residents to recycle food organics and reduce landfill.
“With up to a third of some household rubbish bins made up of food scraps, recycling more food waste is a great opportunity to reduce our landfill volumes,” he said. “By sending less to landfill we reduce harmful emissions and reduce costs to Council and residents.”
Since introducing the food and garden organics bin service in Hobsons Bay, residents have been recycling their food waste loose, or wrapped in a few sheets of newspaper or paper towel.
However, in a recent survey of Hobsons Bay residents, 57 per cent of respondents said they would use a compostable bag. To manage contamination risks, only Hobsons Bay branded paper bags can be used, as well as newspaper and paper towel.
The Council’s food and garden organics partner Veolia is supporting the paper bag trial.
This follows a small-scale pilot which was conducted at the end of 2021 in which about 200 households tested one type of paper bag. Council says feedback from participants so far has been very positive. Over 5,000 households have already joined the trial.
To register for the paper bag trial, click here.
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