A group of Wyndham waste watchers has diverted more than two-thirds of household rubbish from the bin as part of a month-long challenge.
Wyndham council recruited 10 families to take part in its Waste Watchers program, where the participants are taught to reduce their household waste and improve their recycling by changing their shopping habits, composting, and separating different types of rubbish and recycling. After four weeks, the families had reduced their rubbish by 68 per cent, and had also reduced the amount thrown in their recycling bins by 33 per cent.
Wyndham Vale resident Michelle, who took part in the experiment, said her family had learnt a lot from the program.
“The biggest thing I have learnt, and probably the easiest thing every household can instantly change, is to stop putting food waste in the general bin and put them into either the green bin or compost,” she said.
Environment and sustainability portfolio holder Heather Marcus said the project highlighted how a few small changes could lead to a major reduction in the amount of rubbish a household produces.
“Key to this success was composting organic food waste through a worm farm or compost bin, recycling soft plastics at their local supermarket and improving their recycling knowledge,” Cr Marcus said.
“While we have a lot of challenges to address when it comes to waste and recycling, educating the community on how they can help will make a huge difference.”
The experiment ties in with the council’s waste and litter strategy, which is aimed at diverting 90 per cent of the city’s waste from landfill.
Under the strategy, all residential waste wheelie bins will be reduced to 120 litres in the future, while recycling bins will increase in size from 240 litres to 360 litres.
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