THE ACT Greens are disappointed that the Barr Government will delay incorporating food waste collection in Canberra’s green bin program until 2023, at the earliest. 

Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur’s motion to include food waste collection was passed today (June 5), and while she says it’s an important first step, there’s still so much more the government needs to do to tackle the “War on Food Waste”.

“While the Greens are pleased to see my motion passed today, it’s disappointing that the Government has delayed the start date for a food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection service,” Ms Le Couteur says.

“The ACT Greens have called for specific actions on food waste in Parliamentary Agreements as far back as 2008. With still more to do, the Greens are keeping up the fight for more compost and less landfill in the ACT.

“An earlier roll out could have seen tens of thousands of tonnes of extra waste diverted from landfill. Clearly, this is something that the Canberra community would like to see happen sooner than later.”

According to the ACT Greens, more than a third (37 per cent) of ACT residential rubbish bin contents are food waste, which ends up in landfill. It says a composting site and a food organics and garden organics collection service in the ACT could see an estimated 40,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill each year.

Statistics also show that almost 80 per cent of people living in apartments would like better options for food waste.

“The Canberra community have been clear. For too long, food waste in our city has been left rotting in landfill, when it could better be composted to help us grow food and live more sustainably,” Ms Le Couteur says.