community - 2026-04-24

Northern Beaches Rolls Out 'Burgundy Bins' in Next Phase of Food Waste Trial

1,200 households in Terrey Hills, Fairlight and Manly Vale join 20-week pilot as Council prepares for mandatory statewide food waste collection by 2030

Northern Beaches Council is stepping up its war on waste, launching phase two of its food waste collection pilot this week. Approximately 1,200 selected households across Terrey Hills, Fairlight, and Manly Vale are receiving new burgundy-lidded wheelie bins dedicated exclusively to food scraps.

Northern Beaches Council is stepping up its war on waste, launching phase two of its food waste collection pilot this week. Approximately 1,200 selected households across Terrey Hills, Fairlight, and Manly Vale are receiving new burgundy-lidded wheelie bins dedicated exclusively to food scraps. The 20-week trial, running from April 21 to September 2, 2026, aims to test the viability of a separate outdoor food waste collection service. Participating residents have been provided with the new burgundy bins, along with kitchen caddies and compostable liners to make separating food scraps at home easier. This new phase follows the successful completion of phase one, which saw around 1,700 households in Cromer and Dee Why add their food waste directly into their existing green garden waste bins. That initial six-month trial, which ran from October 2025 to March 2026, successfully diverted 330 tonnes of combined food and garden organics from landfill. Northern Beaches Mayor Sue Heins praised the community's recycling efforts but highlighted the need for further action. "Households are already pretty good at recycling, with more than 46,000 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill on the...