Restaurants
2 min read
By Pedro Carreira
Updated 25 June 2026
Cake decorators generate: fondant and icing waste (general waste — cannot be composted due to sugar content and colouring), off-cut cake (donate edible portions to food rescue), packaging, and general waste.
Fondant waste cannot be recycled or composted effectively. Monthly waste: $80–200.
Minimise fondant waste through precise cutting and reusing scraps. Edible off-cuts should go to food rescue, not waste.
Key Numbers
- Typical monthly waste: $80–200
- Metro landfill levy (2025–26): $169.79/tonne
- Statewide FOGO rollout: by 2030
- Commingled contamination: about 12%
What You Need to Know
Cake decorating is unusual among food businesses because its signature waste does not compost. Fondant and icing carry too much sugar and colouring to break down properly, so they belong in general waste — and treating them as organics would only contaminate a clean stream. That makes accurate stream separation, not blanket composting, the real task here.
- Fondant and icing — general waste; cannot be composted or recycled effectively
- Off-cut cake — donate edible portions to food rescue, not the bin
- Packaging — keep clean recyclables separate from sugar-laden waste
- General waste — minimise through precise cutting and reusing scraps
Because misallocating fondant into an organics bin drives the roughly 12% contamination problem statewide, and Victoria's FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) Policy is tightening food-organics separation by 2030, getting the streams right protects both compliance and cost. Bundle Waste audits your invoice for free, compares a network of providers to match bin sizes to a small operation, and is paid only from the savings we find.
Related Resources
Related Questions
What waste does a restaurant generate and how should it be managed?+
Melbourne restaurants generate: food waste (40–60%), cardboard (15–25%), glass (10–15%), recycling (5–10%), cooking oil (3–5%), general waste (10–20%). A 100-cover restaurant generates 500–800kg/week. Food waste composting can divert up to 60% from landfill and save $100–300/month.
What waste management do bakeries need?+
Bakeries generate: ingredient packaging (20–30%), food waste (25–35%), cardboard (15–20%), plastic wrap (10–15%), general waste (10–15%). Mid-size bakery: $200–500/month. Food waste composting saves vs landfill. Used cooking oil collection typically free.
How should commercial bakeries with retail manage waste?+
Dual streams: Production — flour bags, ingredients, food waste, oil. Retail — customer packaging, display waste. Separate systems prevent cross-contamination. Donate unsold product to OzHarvest (free, tax deductible). Monthly cost: $300–700.
How can restaurants reduce food waste?+
Strategies: track waste by type, menu engineering for whole ingredients, portion control, FIFO rotation, specials for near-expiry items, donate surplus to OzHarvest (free, tax deductible), staff meals. Reducing waste 20% saves $500–2,000/month in food costs.
How should I dispose of cooking oil?+
Used cooking oil: collected by licensed recyclers, typically free for 200L+ quantities; some pay $0.10–0.30/litre. Store in sealed containers in bunded area. Never pour down drains. Recycled oil becomes biodiesel or animal feed.
See exactly what you are overpaying
Bundle Waste reviews your current waste invoices and benchmarks them against a network of Melbourne providers — free, with a written report in 5 business days. You will see what you pay now, where the hidden charges are, and the rate we can negotiate. You only pay from the savings we find: no savings, no fee.
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Updated 25 June 2026
