Food and green waste makes up 40 per cent of the average garbage bin in Stonnington, ending up in landfill.
In Stonnington, we're supporting every resident to give their food and green waste a second life.
Get a food and green waste bin
Sign up now to join the 14,750 households in Stonnington that have a food and green waste bin.
For household owners
Council collects the food and green waste bin every two weeks. It's an opt-in service, so you need to fill in the request form below to order yours.
Order a food and green waste bin
For renters
If you rent a property, only owners and owners corporation agents can change your waste service. This is because a cost is added to the rates notice, which the owner pays. However, there are other ways you can give your food and green waste a second life.
If you rent a house or unit with a private outdoor space, you can:
- ask your landlord to get a food and green waste bin
- compost at home and enjoy the benefits in your garden.
If you rent an apartment, you can:
What goes in this bin
- Bones, meat, meat scraps and seafood
- Branches (up to 10cm in diameter and 40cm long)
- Bread, cakes, pastries, pasta, rice
- Citrus, onion, and garlic
- Coffee grounds and beans, tea (loose leaf)
- Compostable liners (lime green, coded AS4736)
- Dairy and egg products (including shells)
- Fruit and vegetable scraps and waste
- Hair (human and animal)
- Lawn or grass clippings
- Leaves
- Leftovers
- Expired food
- Newspapers (small amounts, soiled or wet)
- Paper towel
- Tissues
- Shredded paper
- Toothpicks, skewers, cutlery and chopsticks (uncoated, wooden or bamboo)
For a full list of what to do with your food and green waste, view what to do with my waste and recycling.
What doesn't go in this bin
- Coffee pods, tea bags
- Cooking oil
- Dirt, stones, soil, sand, bricks and rubble
- Food packaging (plastic, cardboard or compostable)
- Hoses, garden pots
- Household garbage
- Kitty litter
- Liquids (cooking oils, sauces)
- Nappies (including compostable)
- Packaging (compostable)
- Pet poo
- Plastic bags and wraps
- Shellfish shells (hard such as oyster shells)
- Stickers and labels
For a full list of what to do with your waste and recycling, view what to do with my waste and recycling.
What happens to your green waste
Bio Gro is the composting facility that processes Stonnington's food and green waste. It's sorted, shredded and mixed with green waste from other councils and businesses. It's then processed into mulch and compost.
Our gardeners use the compost in Stonnington's parks and reserves to keep them healthy. The compost is also put to work on farms, vineyards and orchards across Victoria to grow food for our tables.
Collecting kitchen food scraps with a caddy
A caddy is a small bin that can sit on your kitchen bench, making it easy to collect food scraps to put into your bin later. If you have a Council food and green waste bin you can get a free caddy from our Customer Service Centres.
To line your green waste bin, use:
- newspaper
- paper towel or napkins
- compostable lime green caddy liners (look for the code AS4736 on the packaging), which are available at your supermarket or free from our Customer Service Centres.
Food waste drop-off trial
As part of an eight-month trial, residents in apartments that don't have access to a food and green waste bin can now compost their food waste at our food waste drop-off points. The food waste is then collected and processed into mulch and compost by Bio Gro.
Where can I drop-off my food waste?
The drop-off points are located at:
- Armadale Baptist Church, Armadale
- Claremont Street, South Yarra
- Ellis Street carpark, South Yarra
- Nearby Grattan Gardens Community Centre, Prahran
Each drop-off point will include signage to support their correct use.
How to use our food waste drop-off points
- Use a small container with a lid to collect food waste at home.
- Fill the container with food scraps, including meat, seafood, bones, dairy, vegetables, onions and citrus.
- When full, take your container to your nearest food waste drop-off point.
- Rinse out your container at home.
Are liners accepted?
Yes, compostable lime green liners (look for the code AS4736 on the packaging) can be used to collect your food scraps. These can be purchased from local supermarkets.
Provide feedback on our food waste drop-off points
Let us know what you think and whether we can improve the service with this short survey
If you notice an overflowing bin or unpleasant odour at a drop-off point, email council@stonnington.vic.gov.au or call customer service on 8290 1333.
Compost at home
We actively support our residents to enjoy the benefits of composting at home. Using compost in your garden improves soil health, conserves water and prevents soil erosion.
Stonnington residents can access up to 60 per cent off compost bins, bokashi systems and worm farms through our partner Compost Revolution.
Apartment Composting Program
If you live in an apartment building, you can apply to join our Apartment Composting program(PDF, 643KB).
This program provides apartment buildings with up to three compost systems or worm farms for free, subject to owners corporation approval. This is a great option if your building has a shared outdoor space. Download the letter of support(PDF, 127KB) and complete the application form.
Apply now