If you own a green bin in Playford, you’re in a great position to fight food waste. Just over 30 per cent of the contents of our red lid general waste bins in Playford are comprised of food scraps, which ends up in landfill.

Every banana peel, chop bone, or pumpkin skin you can take out of your red bin and put into the green FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) bin, can make a real difference.

Once in the green bin, your food scraps will go on to be processed into valuable compost, and returned to enrich the soil – where it will support the growth of new food and other plantings.

Pretty much anything organic can go in. A general rule of thumb is ‘if it grows, it goes!’ In other words, if it was once ‘alive’ it has the green light – with the exception of large logs and tree limbs, which are too heavy for the bin and don’t break down in the composting process.

Here are some examples of what can go into your green bin;

• Egg shells, fruit and veggie scraps, meat, seafood and bones – cooked and raw. Anything left on your plate after dinner can go in.

• Other organic things you might not think of, such as pizza boxes (with leftovers), used tissues and paper towel, hair and nail clippings – yours and your pets, dog poo and organic kitty litter. Also, plain brown corrugated cardboard (without waxy finishes or high colour images), and egg cartons can also go in.
• And last but not least, all of your garden trimmings, such as small branches and leaves, weeds and lawn clippings.

A few things that don’t go in;

• Gardening equipment like old hoses, gloves or tools, large tree limbs or logs, and no soft plastics or biodegradable plastics (except those marked as ‘compostable’.)

If you’re in doubt about what bin anything goes into, the ‘Which Bin’ website can help identify a range of items and their appropriate bins at whichbin.sa.gov.au

Make it easy to fight food waste by purchasing a green bin for $57 and receive a free kitchen caddy. Call NAWMA on 8259 2100 or visit nawma.sa.gov.au/fogobin