Help us get our scrap sorted
Food scraps and garden waste are both high in nutrients and minerals that can be recycled.
Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) recycling will allow us to divert large amounts of food waste from landfill, reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions and creating compost to be used in farms, parks, sportsfields and gardens.
The NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 introduced new requirements for councils to provide food and garden organics collections to all NSW households by 2030.
In support of these requirements, Cumberland City Council is starting this work through a two stage trial program undertaken over the next three years. The components of the trial program include:
- Stage 1: Small scale trial to test and validate service design. This would be undertaken with up to 100 households. This stage of the trial would be undertaken during 2023.
- Stage 2: Larger scale trial with up to 1,000 households in response to the results of the small-scale trial and completion of missing elements to enable a FOGO service to be provided, such as the full provision of green bins. This stage of the trial would be prepared in 2024 and implemented in 2025.
The learnings from the two stage trial will inform the full rollout of the FOGO services across Cumberland.
Stage 1 trial
In late 2023, council will be running a small-scale kerbside collection for food organics and garden organics (FOGO). The trial is limited to selected residents in the Greystanes area. About 100 households will participate in the trial. Participants will be asked to put food scraps and garden material together in their green bin. Green bins will be collected weekly as part of the trial. The trial will start in late 2023 and be over a 7 week period.
Participants will be given a kitchen caddy, bin liners, education kit and new green wheelie bins for use in the trial and afterwards. Council will provide support to participants, including an optional in-person workshop and full education kit delivered to your home address.
Please note: If you do not participate in a trial, your service does not change, and no action is required.
Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
What is FOGO
Food scraps and garden waste are both high in nutrients and minerals that can be recycled. Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) is a kerbside collection service that allows food to be added to the green lid garden waste bin so it can be recycled into top quality compost, just as your garden waste has always been.
Why FOGO?
FOGO allow us to divert food waste from landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and use the waste to create compost that can be used in farms, parks, sports fields or even in our own gardens. By 2030, all councils in NSW will provide a FOGO collection service, in accordance with the state government initiatives.
What is the NSW Government mandate for FOGO?
The NSW Government has introduced new requirements for councils to provide food and garden waste collections to all NSW households by 2030. The announcement for the mandate was made in 2021 by the NSW State Government Department of Planning, Industry and Environment.
What strategies has Council relied on to initiate the implementation program for the FOGO Service?
The NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 introduced new requirements for councils to provide food and garden organics collections to all NSW households by 2030.
Why run trials?
FOGO trials will capture information and help council prepare for the smooth delivery of the service across Cumberland.
What Council expects from you
If you sign up, Council will contact you to inform you of your participation. You will be provided with all the necessary information and kit to participate in the trial.
At the end of the trial, you will be invited to provide feedback and Have Your Say on your experience. This will inform delivery of the next stage of FOGO.
Please note: If you do not sign up for a trial, your service does not change, and no action is required.
What is involved in the trials?
Participants of the trials will be requested to present red and yellow bins as usual.
During the first few weeks, there is no change to green bin use. During the next 4 weeks, participating residents will be required to collect food scraps from the kitchen, place food scraps in a lined kitchen caddy (provided), then empty the caddy contents into their green garden waste bin, along with regular garden waste each week. Participants should then be presenting green bins on the kerbside for collection each week. At the end of the 7 week period, service and use of green bins by participating households returns to normal.
Council will audit the contents of red and green bins from participating households. The bin audit is completely anonymous and we will not record private information from each bin.
What happens next?
We will provide all the details required for participation including start & end date; pamphlet; a kitchen caddy and bin liners; in-person information session; and detail about what is involved for your household. Participants in the trial will also receive a new (replacement) green wheelie bins for ongoing use.
At the end of the trial 7 week trial period, residents will be invited to keep the kitchen caddy but return to regular use of the green garden waste bin as before the trial.