Yes, you can. Simply fill out and return an application form for a change in your bin size. You can also collect this form from our Administration Centre at 11 Manning Street, Kiama.

As we want to reward you for downsizing and producing less landfill waste we will not charge the standard administration fee.

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Yes, you can upsize your red  lid garbage bin.  You will need to fill out and return an application form for a change in your bin size. You can also collect this form from our administration centre at 11 Manning Street, Kiama.

Note that there are costs involved in upsizing your bin. 

Based on our statistics, an average of around 64% of what is currently in your red lid garbage bin is either compostable or recyclable.  So if you transfer that waste into your green lid organics and yellow lid recycling bins, you should have plenty of space in your current red lid garbage bin for the rest and can save yourself the money of upsizing!

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If you live in a zone eligible for a green waste service and have never had a green lid organics bin, please contact us and we can discuss your situation and the possibility of you obtaining a green lid organics bin. 

If your green lid organics bin is broken, or lost, you will need to fill out and return an application for a replacement bin.  You can also collect this form from our Administration Centre at 11 Manning Street, Kiama

If you live in a multi-unit dwelling which does not currently have green lid organic bins we will be liaising with your Body Corporate or Strata Management to facilitate the supply of green-lid organic bins for your complex prior to the OK Organics Kiama service commencing in your zone.

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There are bags available which are fully compostable and are accepted in our system. You must be careful to purchase the right ones, or they will be treated as contamination and sent to landfill. There are many different terms used by manufacturers of bags, which can make it confusing. Generally:

Compostable bags are made of organic substances like corn or potato starch. They will fully break down like paper will in a composting system within 12 weeks with no toxic residue. These are the only types of bags which are acceptable in our green lid organics bins.  To identify them, look for the Australian Standard for compostability – AS4736 or the seedling logo.  It is best to buy bright green bags so that they are easily identifiable as compostable and not removed from the compost as contamination.

     

Biodegradable plastic just means that it is a substance that will break down over time given the right conditions (which vary depending on the substance). Unfortunately, this term is often misused, so is not an indication that it is suitable for composting.

Degradable or Oxo-degradable plastic is still a conventional plastic (made from a petrochemical) which has a substance added to help it to break down a bit faster than regular plastics. This could still take up to two years, and it only breaks down into microplastics. It is definitely not suitable for composting. If it is labelled EPI, it is also one of these types of plastics.

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You can buy compostable liners which meet the Australian Standard AS4736 from the following retailers:

• Kiama Downs IGA, 17 Johnson Street - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Jamberoo IGA, 3 Allowrie Street - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Gerringong IGA, 7/11-13 Blackwood Street - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Heart & Sol Organics, Shop 4, 106 Terralong Street, Kiama  - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Bunnings, New Lake Entrance Road, Shellharbour – Maze brand:  7lt compostable bin liners
• Gerringong Licenced Post Office, Shop 3, 146-152 Fern Street, Gerringong - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Gerroa Post Office, 22 Stafford Street, Gerroa - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Manning's General Store, 162 Manning Street, Kiama - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• House2Home, Collins Street, Kiama - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks

 

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We are all responsible for generating waste and as such all residents are encouraged to participate as this is an easy way to help protect the environment, reduce waste to landfill, reduce greenhouse emissions and potentially save the community money.

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The 7L kitchen caddy includes a durable one-piece handle, which forms a locking lid.  The hinged snap fitting lid and locking mechanism, ensures that spillage is avoided and retains moisture to keep odours locked away.

The curved design ensures easy cleaning and the unit is dishwasher safe.

All households within the urban area were issued with a 7L kitchen caddy.  If you do not have one, or yours is damaged/broken, then you can collect one at the Council Administration Centre, 11 Manning Street, Kiama during business hours.

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To secure your kitchen caddy to the inside of a cabinet door, attach a flat metal bar with screws or double sided tape then "hook" the back of the caddy to this metal bar.

Dane, a resident from Gerringong suggests:

"I obtained a piece of aluminium channel (12mm x 12mm x 1.5mm) - I bought a 1m length for $3.99 from the Gerringong Hardware store, which is actually enough to make about 8 brackets!

A piece needs to be cut with ‘mitred’ ends (ie about 45˚) to allow for screws to be inserted. The ‘front’ (ie narrow side) of the bracket should be 95mm long to fit the caddy neatly. I had some 12mm stainless steel self-tapping screws already, so it was only a matter of drilling a suitable sized hole in each end.

Of course, this only works if you have enough shelf space inside the cupboard - ours had a clearance of about 10mm above and below, but others may have smaller shelves."

(Image shown is representative only). 

 

 

 

 

It doesn’t matter how much or how little you have, your bin does not have to be full for collection.  We will empty your green lid organics bin weekly as long as you place it out for collection.  Keep in mind that every little bit helps.

Collaboratively, your little bit, along with the rest of the municipality will drastically reduce organic waste to landfill and ensure it is recycled.

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If your Council issue 7L kitchen caddy breaks, you can bring in your broken caddy and replace it with a new one at Council’s Administration Building, 11 Manning Street, Kiama during business hours.  You must bring in your broken Council issue caddy to enable the replacement.

 

 

• save on rising landfill costs
• reduce methane that is generated and emitted from the landfill
• help preserve the air quality of our environment
• capture food waste full of nutrients that are too valuable to waste
• produce quality compost
  
• improve the soil health of our environment

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We support home composting and encourage you to continue to do so.  This is the most effective and environmentally friendly way to manage your organic waste.  Any food that you do not currently compost can alternatively be placed into your green lid organics bin.  In addition, garden refuse is not essential for this collection.  Your food scraps are the most important part as we are trying to reduce this waste to landfill.  We still encourage the use of your green lid organics bin for food scraps even if you have little or no garden organics.

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It’s easy! All you need to do is place food scraps into your green lid bin. This way all your organics (food & garden waste) will be in the one bin ready for transport to the recycling facility. Food scraps can be wrapped in newspaper or placed loosely into the green bin.  Layering with garden waste or freezing scraps will minimise odours.  Please do not place plastic bags in your green lid organics bin.  Plastic bags do not break down and contaminate the compost process.

You can buy compostable liners which meet the Australian Standard AS4736 from the following retailers:

• Kiama Downs IGA, 17 Johnson Street - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Jamberoo IGA, 3 Allowrie Street - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Gerringong IGA, 7/11-13 Blackwood Street - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Heart & Sol Organics, Shop 4, 106 Terralong Street, Kiama  - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Bunnings, New Lake Entrance Road, Shellharbour – Maze brand:  7lt compostable bin liners
• Gerringong Licenced Post Office, Shop 3, 146-152 Fern Street, Gerringong - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Gerroa Post Office, 22 Stafford Street, Gerroa - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• Manning's General Store, 162 Manning Street, Kiama - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks
• House2Home, Collins Street, Kiama - Compost-a-pak brand: 8L caddie sacks

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Food and garden organics collected form the green lid organics bins are processed by Soilco at their licensed facility at Kembla Grange.  Here the material is screened and shredded into smaller pieces.  The shredded load is processed on site for a 3-4 month period where it is constantly tested to ensure it meets Australian Standards.   The high nitrogen content from your food scraps makes this particular compost even more nutritious for the soil, establishing a base for trees and plants to grow bigger, faster and stronger.  The compost also increases water holding capacity of the soil and maintains soil structure. 

As you can see, unlike landfill, this is a sustainable waste management alternative which results in more positive, long term environmental outcomes for our community and environment.

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Through the experience of other councils, and in our trial zone, the following methods have been shown to minimise nappy odour:

• empty as much faeces as possible into the toilet before nappies are disposed of.
• tie nappies tightly in two bags, which are compressed before sealing to remove air
• store bins in shade
• make sure bin lids close properly and there are no cracks in the lid or body of the bin. Please contact our Waste Services on (02) 4237 7621 if your bin is damaged.
• sprinkle bicarb soda into the bottom of the bin to absorb odours.

If you have a large amount of nappies, you may want to use a nappy disposal unit.  They are lined with a continuous bag which seals in the odour.  Search for nappy disposal units on the internet – they are readily available through department stores, etc.

More information about managing your nappy waste effectively can be found in our nappy information brochure.

 

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If all the organic and recyclable waste is separated and put in the correct bins, most households find that they have space for the rest of their waste in the red lid garbage bin.  If the quantity of nappies you produce is very high and you are finding space is too limited in your red lid garbage bin you may wish to consider upsizing.  Please refer to FAQ "Can I upsize my red lid garbage bin?" for more information.

 

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Many types of modern cloth nappies are available which can be used as an alternative or a supplement to reduce the volume of disposable nappy waste.  Gone are the days of soaking, folding, pins and plastic pants.  Modern cloth nappies have elasticised sides, waterproof layers, press studs or Velcro and generally do not require soaking.  Search for modern cloth nappies on the internet to see the different options and where they can be purchased.

More information about managing your nappy waste effectively can be found in our nappy information brochure.

 

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Food organics can create some odour as they decompose or if they are over exposed to heat.  Therefore, it is a good idea to wrap all your food scraps in either newspaper, junk mail or paper towel. You could also consider placing all your very smelly food scraps, like prawn shells and meat scraps in a sealed container and place this in the fridge or freezer.  Then on bin night, empty the contents of the container into your green lid organics bin and place it on the kerbside for collection.

Layering your food waste among garden green waste will also reduce odours and mess in your bin.  You could line the bottom of your green lid organics bin with cardboard to avoid organic waste sticking to the base.  Sprinkling bicarbonate soda is a natural way to neutralize odours inside your bins or caddy.

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Investigations done by other councils who have introduced a similar service have found that:

• odour from nappies in a rubbish bin peaks at about 4 days.  After this, there is little change regardless of how many nappies are added to the bin
• if disposed of carefully, nappies remaining in a bin for a fortnight do not result in any increase in vermin compared with those collected weekly.

More information about managing your nappy waste effectively can be found in our nappy information brochure.

 

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Come to our administration building at 11 Manning Street, Kiama, and we will provide you with a kitchen caddy and a waste collection calendar for your waste zone.

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If you generate large amounts of non-recyclable medical waste, you can request a "Specific Waste Bin collection service" under the Find a Form tab on the home page. If approved, the Specific Waste Bin collection service means that your red lid garbage bin will be collected weekly. The Specific Waste Bin collection service is reviewed annually on an individual basis.

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If the cat litter is an organic-based product, ie. made from paper, wood, rice or corn, then it can be put in the green lid organics bin.  If the cat litter is based on a silica crystal product, clay or other non-organic material, then this must go in the red lid garbage bin.

Dog droppings can be disposed of in the green lid organics bin. 

Note:  Cat litter or dog droppings should be put in the green lid organics bin loosely, or wrapped in paper.  Please do not dispose of them inside a plastic bag.

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No.  Cigarette filters are made from a synthetic substance which will not break down in our compost.  Not only that, but cigarette butts contain many toxic chemicals which will be released into the compost.  Please dispose of your cigarette butts in the red lid garbage bin.

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The best option for unwanted clothes is to donate them to a charity clothing collection.  Even if they are no longer wearable they can often be processed and sold as industrial rags.  If you have fabric or yarn remnants that are 100% natural fibre (cotton, wool, etc.), then they will break down in our compost.  Please bear in mind though that it can often be difficult to differentiate between natural and synthetic fibres in our contamination removal process.

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Most commercial dishcloths, such as the Chux type, are made from synthetic fabrics and therefore are not compostable.

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Yes!  Any paper or cardboard food packaging that is too soiled to be recycled can now be put into your green lid organics bin.

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Yes.  All seafood remnants are organic and will break down in our composting process.

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Unfortunately, most paper or cardboard cups are lined with a plastic film and therefore are not compostable, or recyclable.  They need to be disposed of in the red lid garbage bin.

There are some paper coffee cups which are biodegradable, and you can compost those, but make sure they have the Australian Standard for compostability printed on them:  AS4736.  And remember, the most environmentally friendly way to drink your coffee is from a re-usable cup!

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Your can recycle all your food scraps, spoils and leftovers such as:

• fruit and vegetable scraps and peel
• meat, fish and bones
• egg shells
• dairy products (cheese, yoghurt)
• bread, pasta, rice, cereal
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• out of date food
• cakes, biscuits and sweets
• soiled paper, towels and tissues

DO NOT place plastic bags or plastic wrapping into the green lid organics bin.  Plastic does not break down and contaminates the composting process.

Use newspaper or paper towel to line your kitchen caddy or wrap your food scraps in paper if preferred. Layering with garden waste or freezing scraps will minimise odours.

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To assist you in determining what goes in the red lid garbage bin, there is information printed in waste collection calendar and the A-Z of waste on our website.

 

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 To ensure you know what you can and cannot recycle, please refer to the information printed in your waste collection calendar or the A-Z of Waste on our website.