Food Waste

Managing Food Waste and Complying with the Law

Food waste containing meat, other animal by-products, some dairy products and any food that has come in contact with these prohibited foods must not be fed to pigs. These foods contain viruses that cause diseases in animals, such as foot-and-mouth disease. These viruses are not destroyed by chilling, freezing, curing or cooking.

Some examples of food that must not be provided to farmers include:

  • vegetables, rice, pasta and other food that has been in direct contact with meat or meat products
  • pizza bun rolls, meat pies
  • bacon and cheese rolls, salad rolls containing meat
  • caesar salad (because it contains bacon pieces)
  • Steak, hamburgers, sausages, butchers's shop waste
  • milk products such as yoghurt, butter and cheese

Businesses that prepare and sell food, such as restaurants, bakeries, hotels, fast food outlets and hospitals, have a responsiblity to dispose food waste appropriately. Prohibited food waste should be placed in an appropriate garbage bin for collection by the Council or a commercial waste service for disposal in landfill or composting at an appropriate recycling facility.

illegal activities include:

  • feeding prohibited food waste to pigs
  • supplying prohibited food waste to feed pigs
  • collecting prohibited food waste from food premises to provide to a piggery

More information on these restrictions, including translated factsheets in Arabic, Mandarin and Vietnamese, is avaliable from the Department of Environment and Primary Industries.

Or see the Swill Feeding Fact Sheet.(PDF, 127KB)