The reasons for supporting Option 3 were:

• It provides a weekly collection, which was of high importance to the community in survey results
• It recognises that on average, 46% of the contents of the red-lidded garbage bin is food waste and that this would be collected weekly in the green bin
• It supports the City’s goal of diverting 85% of waste from landfill as per the endorsed Environmental Sustainability Strategy

Councillors also discussed:

• The need for significant education and communication prior to the roll out
• Providing opportunity for households to request a larger bin if needed (at a small cost)
• Providing a service which balances the needs of different household types

Food Organics and Garden Organics include meat, bones, bread and dairy scraps as well fruit and vegetable waste.

All of this can be recycled, rather than sent to landfill.

For this reason, Council is proposing to change the way your waste is currently collected - a proposal that has now been endorsed.

• In future, you will place your food and garden waste into the green-lidded bin for weekly collection.
• The red-lidded bin will change to a smaller size.
• There will be no change to the yellow-lidded recycling bin.

The overall bin capacity is not reduced.

Below are some interesting facts and frequently asked questions (scroll to the bottom of the page).

Learn about the impact of food waste and reducing the amount of food going to landfill here.

Learn about waste reduction programs here.

Learn about the nappy and sanitary rebate program here. (Please note this program has been fully expended. Council is seeking an extension so stay in touch for updates).

Food waste must be placed in the red-lidded bin until the end of Council’s current waste contract in November 2024.

Before the new FOGO service rolls out, Council will provide households with kitchen caddies and biodegradable bags, along with education and support.

Almost half of the waste in our red-lidded general waste bin is food waste. When food waste is sent to landfill, it degrades and generates harmful greenhouse gases.

Food and garden organics are a valuable resource. If collected and processed appropriately, it can be turned into compost that can be used in parks, sportsfields, and farms.

The NSW government has set the target for all households in NSW to have a food waste collection service by 2030. With Council’s waste contracts ending in 2024, now is the perfect time for us to start planning for our future waste services so that they can deliver great outcomes for our environment, and our community.

Food waste degrades in landfills and produces harmful greenhouse gases.

Introduction of the new FOGO service will mean food waste will be placed into the 240L green-lidded garden organics bin and collected weekly.

There are a number of benefits to collecting food and garden organics separately to the general waste.

• When collected separately, these materials can be processed into compost that can be used to improve the soils in our parks, sportsfields and farms.
• Keeping these materials out of landfill, also avoids dangerous greenhouse gases.
• The cost to process food and organic waste that has been collected separately to general wastes is also less than the cost of sending this material to landfill.

Council has endorsed the option for a 240L weekly FOGO bin; a 240L fortnightly yellow-lidded bin; and an 80L weekly red-lidded bin for general waste.

The current service provides a 140 litre red-bin for general household waste collected weekly; a 240 litre yellow bin collected fortnightly and a 240 litre green bin for garden waste collected fortnightly. The current cost for collection and disposal is $349.49 with a potential diversion from landfill of 58%.

Council intends to roll out bins as part of the new waste service to all households.

Council is exploring options to introduce food and organics collections for all housing types. The number of bins and frequency of collection will depend on the size /density of the complex and space available to store bins.

With food waste moving into the green lidded bin with your garden waste, the collection of these bins (the FOGO bins) will become weekly when the new contract comes into effect (after November 2024).

Modelling of the different options based on current charge rates for collection and processing of landfill and organics* indicate that the introduction of a food and organics (FOGO) service will cost less than continuing to send our food waste to landfill.

*as of December 2021

Council's decision means the general waste bin (red lid) will change from 140L to a 80L bin collected every week.

While this would ultimately be up to the successful tenderer, most FOGO processors accept all food items such as fruit and vegetable scraps, meat products, bread, pasta, rice, dairy products, tea and coffee grounds, as well as small bones and shellfish.

The green-lidded food and garden organics (FOGO) can be used for items that you might not currently compost, such as dairy, bones, meat/fish scraps and weeds.

With the introduction of a food and organics (FOGO) service, you will actually receive double the capacity in the green lidded bin over the period of a fortnight, as the green-lidded FOGO bin would now be collected weekly instead of fortnightly.