Rachel Shaw, who also runs a cleaning supplies business, discovered BioBags when she heard red bin collection could be reduced to fortnightly and wanted to find ways to reduce her family’s contribution to landfill.

Since then, she has started a BioBag Central West Facebook page to increase awareness of the compostable bags, which are made from plant starch, and to lobby Orange City Council to consider them.

The bags are currently treated as contaminants and Ms Shaw has received a notice to say the organics wrapped in them would be sent to landfill.

She was also disheartened last week when she and a representative from BioBags Australia met with the council and did not receive the traction she hoped for.

“I believe council don’t have the necessary motivation to get behind it and other barriers, they perceive, are too hard to overcome,” she said.

Ms Shaw said council representatives indicated to her during the meeting they were unsure the bags were necessary and people were happy putting organics straight into the bin, they were unsure the cost would be worth the benefit and the composting system as it stood did not cater for the bags. 

However, she argued compostable bags removed much of the mess from the process and allowed the use of open-air kitchen caddies, which dried out the organics and prevented mould and odour forming prior to disposal in the green bin.

She also said moving sorting until after composting would mean contaminants accidentally placed in the bags could then be removed once the bags broke down.

“I believe the whole problem is JR Richards and Netwaste because the Netwaste councils are not using the bags, but 28 other councils have a different waste scheme,” she said.

“What worries me most is that council are just about to enter into another 10-year contract when I don’t believe they have looked outside of the square.” 

However, councillor Neil Jones was also at the meeting and said there was still hope.

“I’m hoping that compostable bags and aerobic kitchen tidy bins can become part of our waste management,” he said.

“Council will be looking very closely at other councils that have introduced BioBags and other councils that are successful in managing a fortnightly red bin service.” 

Councillor Glenn Taylor previously raised concerns about what limits Netwaste, which manages regional waste contracts across 27 councils, could have on Orange’s waste arrangements and he thought the council’s participation might have reached its use-by date. 

“What works [at a rural council] has nothing to do with the community of Orange and if the bag is what it says it is, why wouldn’t we use it?”  he said. 

danielle.cetinski@fairfaxmedia.com.au