What you don't eat, your garden will.
Did you know we have a subsidised home composting program?
Each household in Greater Geelong is entitled to one discounted product from the selection available via our
Wormlovers online shop.
About half the contents of a typical garbage bin is food or garden waste. This is unfortunate, as all those vegetable scraps, tea bags and coffee grounds, along with your garden leaves and prunings, can be composted into a rich garden fertiliser.
Not only will recycling household organic waste help you improve the quality of your soil and save money, it will also reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.
What can go in a compost bin
As a general rule, anything that was once part of a living thing can be composted. The ideal compost mixture is 20 parts of carbon to one part of nitrogen (by volume).
Material high in nitrogen includes:
| • Vegetable scraps |
• Tea leaves |
| • Fruit peelings (avoid citrus peel) |
• Coffee grounds |
| • Farm manure |
• Garden weeds |
| • Fresh lawn clippings |
• Cut flowers |
Material high in carbon includes:
| • Dry leaves and bark |
• Wood ash |
| • Prunings |
• Egg cartons |
| • Sawdust |
• Straw |
| • Shredded paper |
• Dry grass |
For best results, chop and grind coarse material into smaller pieces to speed up breakdown.
What you can't compost
Items that should not be included are:
| • Large woody branches |
• Weeds with bulbs |
| • Bones |
• Plastic |
| • Fats and oils |
• Metals |
| • Fish |
• Glass |
Also avoid:
-
citrus and acidic foods such as lemons, oranges, onions and garlic; and
-
meat and dairy products because they will attract flies
-
pet poo, unless you have a dedicated bin for this purpose and keep the compost away from your vegetable garden.
Buying a compost bin
You can buy compost bins from many different hardware suppliers, plant nurseries and wholesalers.
Each household in Greater Geelong is also entitled to purchase one subsidised compost bin from the Wormlovers online shop.
Disposal of noxious weeds
Noxious weeds can be placed in your garden waste bin. Garden waste undergoes a pasteurisation process, where it is heated to high temperatures which ensure the seeds can not germinate.
Noxious and declared weeds can also be placed in the garbage waste bin, but put them in a plastic bag and tie the top, to ensure they are not spread further once they get to landfill.