Dee Why residents are among the first on the Northern Beaches to trial a new food waste recycling program that could see households managing up to five wheelie bins.
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Around 1,500 homes in selected streets of Dee Why and Cromer are part of the six-month pilot, which began in late October 2025, designed to test how best to collect and recycle kitchen waste.
Participants in the first phase have been provided with a kitchen caddy and compostable liners and are asked to separate food scraps from general waste. The caddy contents are then placed into the existing green waste bin, which is collected weekly. The food waste collected will be turned into compost that can be used by local farmers.
The first phase focuses on Dee Why and Cromer, but a second phase of the pilot is set to run from April to September 2026 in areas yet to be announced. In this phase, households will receive a new burgundy bin, designated solely for food waste. Once both trials conclude, feedback from residents will guide the council in deciding the most effective system for collecting food scraps across the Northern Beaches.
If the burgundy bin is adopted, Dee Why households could end up managing five separate bins: the red general waste bin, yellow bin for bottles and cans, blue bin for paper recycling, green bin for garden and kitchen scraps, and the new burgundy bin for food waste only.
Residents on the Northern Beaches already divert more than 46,000 tonnes of waste from landfill each year. Almost half of what goes into the red bin is food, which currently ends up in landfill. The new service aims to recycle kitchen scraps and turn them into compost for agricultural use.
Residents in the pilot areas have received letters explaining their participation, alongside instructions for using the kitchen caddy and information on what can and cannot be composted. Food waste will be collected weekly to monitor participation and logistics.
For households not included in the pilot, the council encourages residents to reduce food waste at home by planning meals carefully, composting kitchen scraps where possible, and taking part in local community sharing programs.
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Feedback from residents in Dee Why and Cromer will inform the design of the wider food recycling service, which is scheduled to be rolled out across the Northern Beaches in the coming years.
Published 21-November-2025
