Cutlery (compostable)
Cutlery made of plant-based, renewable fibres such as wood or bamboo can be composted at home or via specialised commercial composting services. Compostable cutlery is not accepted in the ACT green waste garden organics bins.
Compostable cutlery is not accepted in the ACT green waste garden organics bins.
Disposal options
- For compostable cutlery:
- Avoid using all single-use products where possible
- Compost at home in small quantities
- Businesses, check with your commercial composting contractor to see if they accept these products
- For commercial organic collection services contact Goterra
- Rubbish bin
The Canberra Environment Centre runs workshops on composting and sell a range of composting systems at a reduced price.
Why?
While bamboo and wooden cutlery are made from renewable materials, they often require different disposal facilities. Our Materials Recovery Facility where the contents of your recycling bin are sorted, does not accept and recover items for composting. These items often need to be composted in a commercial compost facility with specialised conditions such as optimal temperatures, insects or enzymes to break down large volumes of this material or they must go to landfill.
Additional Information
Single-use plastic cutlery and stirrers (including bioplastic cutlery and stirrers) are prohibited from sale, supply or distribution within the ACT from 1 July 2021. Consider using alternatives such as reusable plastic, metal or compostable cutlery. Find out more about the single-use plastics ban.
Related items
This may include wooden chopsticks; bamboo chopsticks; wooden cutlery; wooden spoons; wooden knives; wooden forks; bamboo cutlery; bamboo spoons; bamboo forks; bamboo knives.