A good rule of thumb is that if it’s part of something edible, it should go in your kitchen compost bin. This includes:

- Fruit and vegetables scraps (including citrus, onion and pips)

- Dairy products and egg shells

- Processed and cooked foods

- Meat and seafood scraps (including bones and shells) 

- Rice, pasta and bread

- Coffee grounds and loose leaf tea

- Spoiled or rotten food.

Paper towel, napkins & tissues can go in there too. However, each council is different, please confirm with your local council.

The Compost Co. lids are airtight with ventilation, designed to reduce moisture, the main cause of unpleasant smells. The lid also includes two charcoal filters to help absorb and trap the odours and stop them from leaking into your kitchen.

The Compost Co bins come with spare filters. Filters last around 4-6 months. If you require more, they can be purchased from our website.

Best for you to be the judge, but every couple of days is ideal and more frequent in warmer weather.

Simply clean your Compost Co bin in soapy water and dry thoroughly before re-use.

Compostable bags are made of plant material such as corn starch and can be broken down in a composting system. Whereas, biodegradable bags are still made of plastic but have microorganisms added to break down the plastic. Certified Compostable bags can only be used as a bin liner in your kitchen compost bin. Biodegradable bags should be placed in your general waste bin.

It’s a 5L bin, perfect for your kitchen bench top. The bin fits an 8 litre certified compostable bin bag. To prevent the bag from slipping, place bag in the bin and turn the handle over once and the bag will lock in place. Please check with your councils if they allow compostable bin liners.

Compostable bin bags are made out of corn starch and can be found at most local supermarkets. Your council also might be able to provide. Please reach out, if you're unable to find them.

We currently have white, cream & grey. Sage will be back in stock in 2-3 months. If you're after another colour, please contact us at jessica@thecompostco.com.au

It’s easy to compost at home with the help of the Victorian Government initiative that allows food waste to go in the same bin as your garden waste. Reach out to your local council to see if the service is available to you. 

Helpful hints:

- During food prep and cleaning up, place all food scraps in your kitchen compost bin. 

- Once full or after a couple of days (more frequent in warmer weather), empty food scraps from the kitchen compost bin into your green waste bin or your garden compost bin. 

- Check your councils for collection times (fortnightly or weekly).

Your food and green waste is sent to an organics facility and turned into a high-quality compost which will be used by Victorian farmers. There are numerous composting plants around Victoria to support this initiative, including the Sacyr Environment Australia’s organics facility, located in Dandenong South.

The following process takes place to turn your food and green waste into compost:

1) Once at the organics facility, food and green waste is organised by size, and shredded.

2) After the material is shredded, it is processed through a magnet, extracting any small metals which are then sent to a metals recycling facility.

3) The organic material is then transferred to the composting area of the facility for the next stage, which will take approximately 14 days.

4) Sacyr use a treatment where the organic material is processed in tunnels so the team can monitor the temperature, moisture, and oxygen levels, ensuring that everything is within an optimal range.

5) It takes 28 days to mature into compost. The whole process will take approximately 42 days in total and follows the EPA’s guidelines and directions.

6) When the maturation process is completed, the organic material is refined and again screened for any contaminants such as glass, plastic and textiles.

It is now officially compost and distributed to farms and park to improve the health of their soil.

When food waste is sent to landfill it is usually compacted down and covered over. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), when this happens, food waste is broken down in an oxygen depleted environment causing methane gas to be produced and released into the atmosphere. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas tens of times more powerful than carbon dioxide in warming the atmosphere and a major contributor to global warming. A report released by the United Nations Environment Program found that immediate reductions in methane emissions provide the best chance for the planet to slow climate change.

In Australia, we waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food, enough waste to fill the MCG nearly 9 times. It has been reported, that we use around 2,600 gigalitres of water to grow food that is wasted, which equates to to the volume of water in five Sydney Harbours. It has also been estimated that food waste costs the economy around $36.6 billion each year. Australia has set a goal to halve its food waste by 2030, aligning with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal. You can read more about National Waste Action Plan here.

While composting is a great way to protect our environment, reducing food waste altogether would be even better. 

1) Plan your meals

2) Use a shopping list

3) Eat leftovers for lunch / dinner the next day

4) Store food correctly 

5) Composting rather than putting food in landfill

Please allow 1-2 business days for your order to be processed for shipping. We make every effort to fulfill orders as quickly as possible. You will receive a notification when your order has shipped.

We ship nationally only. Shipping times depend on your location. We use Sendle who are 100% carbon neutral because we also believe sending parcels shouldn’t cost the earth. Sendle have guaranteed that all parcels will arrive anywhere between 2-8 business days. Please contact us if your shipment doesn’t arrive during these times.

Sendle will automatically calculate the shipment at check out. We don’t add any additional handling fees. Shipping cost should be around $8 - $10. Please contact us if it is anymore than this. 

When your order has shipped, you will receive an email notification from us which will include a tracking number you can use to check its status. Please allow 48 hours for the tracking information to become available.

If you haven’t received your order within 8 business days of receiving your shipping confirmation email, please contact us at jessica@thecompostco.com.au with your name and order number, and we will look into it for you.

We have a 14-day return policy, which means you have 14 days after receiving your item to request a return. If the item is unused and in its original condition, and we will refund the full order amount minus the shipping costs for the return. You’ll also need the receipt or proof of purchase.

To start a return, you can contact us at jessica@thecompostco.com.au. When your return is accepted, we’ll send you a return shipping label, as well as instructions on how and where to send your package. Items sent back to us without first requesting a return will not be accepted.

You can always contact us for any return questions at jessica@thecompostco.com.au.

In the event that your order arrives damaged in any way, please email us as soon as possible at jessica@thecompostco.com.au with your order number and a photo of the item’s condition.