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.

Council is proposing that the food waste is to be placed into your existing 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.

No. Council is simply exploring the different options available which will help us reach our target to divert 85% of our waste from landfill by 2038, while also aligning with the NSW Government policy directions for all households to have food waste collection services by 2030.

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) would be moved to weekly.

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.

The cost difference between each of the 4 options being presented is influenced by the size and collection frequency of the red-lidded general waste bin. A weekly collection of the garbage bin will cost more than a fortnightly collection. Similarly, a bigger bin will cost more than a smaller bin.

The key difference between the four options being presented is the size and collection frequency of the red-lidded general waste bin. A weekly collection of the garbage bin will cost more than a fortnightly collection. Similarly, a bigger bin will cost more than a smaller bin.

The feedback provided through this community engagement will help inform any future changes to the red bin. We want to understand which options are most desirable, and which options people would be willing to accept.

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.