Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO)

Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO)

Organic waste makes up around half of what Queenslanders throw away each week in their kerbside waste (red lid) bin. Diverting organic material from landfill presents numerous environmental and economic benefits, ranging from significant landfill methane emissions reduction to the generation of a value-added product.

The Queensland Government supported Townsville City, Rockhampton Regional and Lockyer Valley Regional Councils to undertake the trials.

As part of the trial, each council provided an additional bin to a sample of households to test collection frequencies, equipment types and community engagement methods.

The trials successfully diverted hundreds of tonnes of organic waste from landfill. The information gathered from the trials is being used by the Queensland Government and councils to assess the suitably of ongoing FOGO collections in Queensland.

The trials were made possible due to the dedicated waste management teams in the local governments who have been on the ground every day ensuring that their communities embrace new ways of managing their waste.