Waste audits reveal how bad we are at recycling green waste

Ratepayers could save more than $10 million overnight on the rising Solid Waste Levy if people stopped putting food scraps – nearly half of all waste – in the rubbish bin.

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Adelaide ratepayers could save more than $10 million next financial year by putting food scraps in their green bins instead of sending it to landfill, analysis has shown.

Waste audits conducted by councils across metropolitan Adelaide have found about 45 per cent of waste, by weight, in rubbish bins is food scraps that could instead be put in green bins.

This means councils are spending millions more than necessary to pay the State Government’s Solid Waste Levy to send the compostable scraps to landfill.

The government announced in the State Budget it would increase the levy by 40 per cent – to $140 a tonne next year – leaving local governments scrambling to revise budgets.

So far, nine metropolitan councils have voted to increase their rates higher than planned to cover the rubbish tax hike.

Onkaparinga Council stood to save as much as $2.25 million on its rubbish tax bill next financial year if residents correctly disposed of food scraps.

Other large metropolitan councils, including Tea Tree Gully, Port Adelaide Enfield and Charles Sturt, had the potential to save more than $1 million each.

The audits involved assessing the contents of random bins across the councils.

Food scraps should be put in the green bin.

Lachlan Jeffries, managing director of Jeffries, one of the state’s largest green waste processors, said measures such as less frequent rubbish collection were needed to encourage people to properly dispose of food scraps.

“I was at a conference in the US earlier this year and they showed that the next step is that the rubbish bin doesn’t get picked up every week and the organics get picked up every week,” Mr Jeffries said.

“We don’t really need to walk our rubbish bin out every week. In leading communities around the world, that’s what they’re doing.”

East Waste general manager Rob Gregory – whose organisation manages the waste of seven councils – said less than a third of households appropriately disposed of food waste.

“This presents both a great opportunity and challenge,” Mr Gregory said.

“Without doubt food waste into organics is the single biggest action the community can take to reduce cost and improve environmental performance.”

Food scraps are ending up in landfill and costing Adelaide ratepayers more than $10 million a year.

Northern Adelaide Waste Management Authority chief executive Adam Faulkner said the benefits of diverting more food scraps to green waste would be two-fold.

“We’ve got two multi-generational composters in South Australia … who take our product and return it to the soil in viticulture and horticulture and in home gardens,” Mr Faulkner said.

“There’s huge environmental as well as economic benefit.”

Local Government Association president Sam Telfer said: “South Australia leads the nation in diverting waste from landfill but there’s still room for improvement.”

“Getting more food organics into green bins is our best opportunity to reduce the waste we send to landfill, and the State Government taxes that are collected though council rates.”

Onkaparinga and Holdfast Bay councils conduct inspections of residents’ bins and leave stickers rating the level of recycling.

Charles Sturt Council is considering fitting its bins with electronic chips to monitor their weight.

Environment Minister David Speirs said the increase in the rubbish tax would “incentivise improved waste management”.

“This is a market signal to local councils that we want them to get better in this area and we want to work with them which is why we have our $12 million recycling transition package as part of the 2019/20 State Budget,” Mr Speirs said.

- with Ben Cameron

Follow @TheCalebBond