Disposing of fruit and vegetables during an outbreak
Red outbreak area waste disposal
Green waste is managed differently in some outbreak locations. Make sure you know how to dispose of fruit and vegetable waste in your area.
Green waste in outbreak areas is managed by PIRSA or councils by either:
- heat through commercial composting
- deep burial in special pits.
These processes make sure fruit fly eggs, maggots, pupae and flies can't survive.
Salisbury, Renmark and Paringa townships
Use your green lid bin instead of composting or burying waste at home.
If you don’t have a green lid bin, double bag the waste, seal it closed and contact the Fruit Fly Hotline on 1300 666 010 to arrange collection.
Do not take it to the council's Waste Transfer Station.
Other Renmark and Riverland red outbreak areas
Barmera, Berri, Bookpurnong, Bookpurnong B, Cadell, Cadell B, Chaffey, Chaffey B, Cooltong, Cooltong B, Cooltong C, Glossop, Glossop B, Loveday, Loxton, Loxton North A, Loxton North B, Loxton North C, Loxton North D, Loxton North E, Lyrup, Lyrup B, Monash North, Murtho, Murtho B, Murtho C, Murtho D, New Residence, New Residence B, Overland Corner, Paringa, Pike River, Pike River West, Renmark North, Renmark South, Renmark West, Renmark West B, Sunlands, Swan Reach, Waikerie, Waikerie B, Waikerie C, Waikerie D, Winkie, Winkie B and Winkie C.
Double bag the waste, seal it closed and contact the Fruit Fly Hotline on 1300 666 010 to arrange collection.
Do not compost or bury your waste. Do not put fruit waste in your green bin.
Lindsay Point (Victoria)
Double bag the waste, seal it closed and contact the Fruit Fly Hotline on 1300 666 010 for advice.
Do not compost or bury your waste.
Retailers and wholesalers
All restricted fruit and vegetable waste must be put directly into green bins, not compost bins.
If you do not have access to a green bin, double bag the waste and place it in a general waste bin.
Growers and producers
All restricted fruit and vegetable waste must be treated onsite by mulching it and optionally applying an insecticide treatment such as Samurai or Dimethoate.
Yellow suspension area waste disposal
Double bag the waste and place in your general waste bin. Do not compost or bury waste at home.
If you are in the Renmark and Paringa township suspension areas you can use your green lid bin.
Orchard waste must be mulched onsite and optionally treated with an approved insecticide.
Transcript
Transcript
[Text] Why should residents not compost?
[Text] Nick Secomb, Manager, Plane Health Operations, PIRSA
Nick: So in managing fruit at home, we have to think about what the fruit fly like. And if we don't manage our fruit, fruit fly lay their eggs in fruit, and you might be able to see a little blemish on the outside of the skin that shows that fruit fly might have laid its eggs in the fruit. If we don't do anything, that fruit will drop onto the soil and inside the fruit, the fruit fly will continue to develop into larvae. And then they'll actually hatch out and turn into pupae – little cocoon type arrangements, and they'll go into the soil and that's what they like. And if we don't do anything, they'll burrow into the soil and complete their life cycle. At home, if we compost, we're actually encouraging that cycle because we're putting the fruit exactly where the fruit fly wants to be. So instead of doing that, put your fruit into your green bin, the council will pick it up and it'll be handled through a commercial process where we know it's treated properly and it'll kill the fruit fly.
Riverland waste needs to be treated differently because in most areas, commercial processing doesn't meet standards that kill fruit fly. If you don't have a green bin or if you live in the Riverland, check the fruit fly website for disposal advice for your area. Alternatively, call the Fruit Fly Hotline on 1300 666 010.
[Text] Find out how to protect SA from fruit fly: fruitfly.sa.gov.au