Food organics and garden organics waste collection to expand across ACT

The food waste program is currently being trialled at 5000 households in Belconnen. The program has faced criticism with garbage collection switched from weekly to fortnightly, with recycling and organic waste collected weekly.

On Friday morning, Transport and City Services Minister Chris Steel told ABC Radio Canberra that families had the option to request a larger garbage bin.

"We haven't actually seen that many people take up that option, about 52 households have taken that up until February ... not many people have been needing that extra space," he said.

"We are investing in new waste infrastructure that will support Canberrans to take everyday action on climate change and reduce our city's future emissions.

"The government would build a large-scale [organic waste] processing facility as an essential step towards rolling out a Canberra-wide food organics and garden organics collection service."

Food scraps reportedly make up 37 per cent of household waste in the ACT, with 65,000 tonnes of organic waste sent to landfill in Canberra each year.

The new processing facility is pegged to be built on vacant land at the Hume Resource Recovery Estate, adjacent to the existing Materials Recovery Facility at Mugga Lane.

The scraps will be turned into nutrient-rich compost in an effort to reduce waste emissions by up to 30 per cent. So far, 480 tonnes of waste has been collected as part of the Belconnen trial with a waste contamination rate of less than 0.1 per cent during the first three months of the pilot's operation.

"Now we're getting on with the job of building the processing infrastructure necessary expand the service to the rest of Canberra," Mr Steel said.

A feasibility study recommended an in-vessel composting facility be built, capable of processing 50,000 tonnes of organic material per year. The facility will be designed to expand to take up to 70,000 tonnes per year to meet future demand.

In-vessel composting contains the material within a vessel or building where aeration and temperature is controlled to optimise the composting process. The in-vessel process means that odour can be controlled easily in the enclosed facility and this type of composting requires less land than open composting methods.

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The government will release a tender for the new facility later this year. While the facility is under development, the government will continue planning for a citywide roll out of household organic waste collection services.

This will include undertaking a survey of all participants in the current trial in Belconnen - via letterbox drop and email - to understand their experiences and views.

"[Organic waste collection] is a key part of our plans for Canberra's circular economy - turning things currently considered waste into valuable products like compost, which can be used in agriculture, viticulture and the parks and gardens of our whole region," Mr Steel said.

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