Food Organics Garden Organics collection will be coming to Golden Plains Shire by 2027.
The Recycling Victoria Policy (2020) sets ambitious targets to reduce the volume of organic materials going to landfill by 50% and increase waste recovery to 80% (for all materials that can be recycled or reused).
To achieve these targets, Council is working in partnership with the Victorian Government to introduce a Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) collection service by 2027.
FOGO covers all the organic waste usually generated at home in the kitchen and the garden, and FOGO collection helps divert food and organic waste from your general waste bin. This saves space in your bin and reduces the amount (and cost) of landfill needed.
A bin audit of Golden Plains Shire conducted in 2021 revealed that around 47% of the general waste bin is made of garden waste and food waste.
The audit showed that urban garbage bins have a higher proportion of garden waste (22.81%) than the rural bins (14.83%). The quantity of food waste was similar for both urban and rural areas (29.7%).
Golden Plains Shire Council is partnering with Barwon Water and other three local councils in the Regional Renewable Organics Network (RRON) project, which involves the construction of an organics processing facility.
The introduction of FOGO bins will align with the operational start of the RRON facility, which is anticipated to take place in 2027.
For further details and updates on this project, we encourage you to visit The Regional Renewable Organics Network at Black Rock - Your Say Barwon Water.
Under Victorian Government legislation, all Councils must move to a standard four-bin system: red for general waste, yellow for mixed recycling, purple for glass and lime green for combined food and garden organics.
Introducing a FOGO service will enable Golden Plains Shire residents to significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Currently, food and garden organics account for approximately 47% of household waste that ends up in landfills. As these materials decompose, they produce methane - a greenhouse gas that is around 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. By diverting organic waste from landfills, we can help lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our dependence on landfill disposal.
The introduction of FOGO bins will align with the operational start of the RRON facility, which is anticipated to take place in 2027.
Golden Plains Shire Council is partnering with Barwon Water and other five local councils in the Regional Renewable Organics Network (RRON) project, which involves the construction of an organics processing facility.
The RRON facility will take household food and garden waste, local commercial and industrial organic waste and biosolids (organic materials from wastewater treatment) and safely convert it into products that enrich compost, soil and capture carbon for high value use in agribusiness and sustainable manufacturing, and at the same time produce renewable energy.
To learhn more, visit The Regional Renewable Organics Network at Black Rock | Your Say Barwon Water.
If you're already composting, that's fantastic! Thank you for your efforts and keep up the great work!
The FOGO system can work well alongside worm farms and home composting. Your FOGO bin can take some of those hard to compost items and things that worms do not like to eat, such as citrus, meat, bones and dairy. These items won’t break down through home composting systems as they require high temperatures of industrial composting.
The first service standard and regulations under the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 will inform the future FOGO service requirements and what options might be available to residents. These are expected to be finalised and published in 2025.