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This article was published on Friday, 16 November, 2018. The information contained within may be out of date or inaccurate. News articles and media releases older than 60 days are archived for future reference.

Contamination rates reach all time low

Bin contamination of the green lid bin has been an ongoing problem not only in the greater Shepparton region but around the nation.

Manager Works and Waste Maree Walker said contaminating the green lid bin with non-organic items profoundly impacted the composting process.

“With such great results in October we would like to say thank you to the residents of Greater Shepparton for achieving excellent results in sorting their waste over the past months,” Ms Walker said.

This is an outstanding improvement given contamination rates were as high as 12 per cent when the green lid bin was introduced in 2015. It is Council’s aim to keep contamination rates under two per cent.

“Putting organic waste in the green lid bin protects the environment by diverting waste from the landfill. It also improves the effectivness of processing and ensures our waste services are sustainable and cost effective,” Ms Walker said.

As contamination rates continue to drop, Ms Walker is encouraging residents to keep up the great work by thinking carefully about which bin they use to dispose of their waste.

“With such low contamination rates in the green lid bin, it is time to start focusing on what we place in the yellow and red lid bins,” she said.

“Recent audits have shown, 71 per cent of what is placed in the red lid bin could be either recycled or placed in the green lid bin for composting.”

Council would also like to remind all residents that green waste is sorted manually by staff at the Western Composting site in Shepparton and therefore it is important to never place anything hazardous, such as needles into the green lid bin.

Information on what items can go in which bins and how to dispose of materials properly can be found on Councils website here.