Northern Beaches Council has concluded testing the first phase of a new food waste collection service, with approximately 1,700 households in Cromer and Dee Why adding their food waste to the green bin along with their garden waste.
Phase two of the trial is set to begin this week with 1200 selected households in Terrey Hills, Fairlight and Manly Vale set to trial food collection in a separate burgundy food only bin.
How did phase one go?
A total of 330 tonnes of combined food and garden waste was collected, processed and sent for recycling. At this stage, council has been unable to provide data showing whether this exceeds the amount typically collected when bins contain garden waste alone, but it is early days.
The initial phase ran from October 2025 through to March 2026, with participants asked to collect their food scraps in a kitchen caddy before disposing of them in their green garden waste bin.
The approach diverts organic waste from landfill by combining it with green waste for processing.
A variety of 3,000 households are included in the trails to make sure they hear from all corners of the community, from single houses to low, medium and high-density units.
See our video about the first phase of the project.
So what’s next?
Phase two of the pilot will run for 20 weeks from 21 April until 02 September and will test the collection of food waste in a separate outdoor wheelie bin.
Residents participating in this next phase have already been notified and have received new burgundy food-only bin, kitchen caddy and liners this week.
Mayor Sue Heins said: “Households are already pretty good at recycling, with more than 46,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill on the Northern Beaches via our green, blue and yellow bins every year.
“But almost half of our red bin is made up of food waste which can be composted and used for agriculture and other purposes, saving landfill space and reducing potent gases.”
“Almost half of our red bin is made up of food waste which can be composted.”
She acknowledged the rollout was a significant shift for local households, adding that is why Council is piloting different options.
“We will learn what works and what needs to be improved before we introduce it across the whole area.”
The trial forms part of a broader NSW initiative requiring all councils to introduce residential food waste collection by 2030.
Following the first phase, Mayor Heins said: “Early results from phase one show our community is willing to embrace new ways of reducing waste, and that is incredibly encouraging.
“The lessons we learn now will shape a service that is practical, effective and environmentally responsible.”
Food waste remains a significant national issue.
The 2021 National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study estimates Australians discard 7.6 million tonnes of food each year, with households contributing to nearly one-third.
That waste accounts for roughly 3% of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions and is linked to the use of 2,600 gigalitres of water.
Economically, it is estimated to cost the country $36.6 billion annually.
Australia has committed to halving food waste send to landfill within the next four years, in line with the Untied Nations Sustainable Development Goal 12 on responsible consumption and production.
