FOGO: How Council Is Tackling Food Waste
Councils around South Australia and Australia are introducing Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) and it is a significant action that residents and Council can take to reduce our community’s environmental impact.
Following on from our prior communications, Port Pirie Regional Council is leading the way to become the first regional SA Council to introduce a high performing weekly FOGO kerbside collection, unlike the standard fortnightly service being implemented by other Councils.
The change to the kerbside collection service will start on Monday 4 March 2024 with the collection of red-lid landfill and green-lid FOGO bins. The new system allows residents to dispose of their food waste and other compostable waste in the green lid bins (along with garden waste). The green-lid FOGO bins will be collected every week while the red lid landfill bins will move to a fortnightly collection.
Mayor Leon Stephens says this change gives the community the opportunity to place food in the green-lid bin for the first time and shows Port Pirie’s ongoing leadership in reducing landfill and increasing resource recovery.
“We have continued to improve our waste management systems over the years, but as a community, we can always do better. That’s why we’re moving the entire Council region to weekly FOGO bin collections. It will showcase the high levels of environmental sustainability regional communities can achieve,” said Mayor Stephens.
“An audit of our bins showed that 44% of what was placed in the landfill bin was compostable and most of this is food. By putting food scraps into the green-lid FOGO bins, we will reduce the amount of food going to landfill, help lower greenhouse gas emissions and help make nutrient rich compost for our famers.”
“The message is simple – food scraps belong in the FOGO bin.”
All food scraps can go straight into the green-lid FOGO bins, either in a certified compostable bag, wrapped in newspaper or loose. This includes cooked and raw food, meat, bones and dairy.
The FOGO bin is also suitable for pet waste (in a compostable bag), nail clippings, hair, greasy pizza boxes, egg cartons, paper towels and tissues. The introduction of weekly FOGO recycling means nearly two thirds of the general waste bin can be recovered and recycled if materials are sorted correctly.
Benefits of FOGO include a more cost effective and environmentally sustainable kerbside bin service, reduction of material sent to landfill, increase in food recycling and support of future options to explore a local composting facility.
Port Pirie Regional Council will be providing each household a FOGO welcome pack containing:
- A 7-litre benchtop kitchen caddy
- Compostable kitchen caddy liners
- Kerbside collection calendars containing service dates and other useful information
- FOGO information booklet with information about the service including which items can be placed in each bin.
Orana will be delivering the welcome packs to households from Monday 12 February 2024.
Throughout February, Council and KESAB will conduct “Coffee, Compost & Conversations”, a series of community information sessions to answer any questions prior to the FOGO implementation. These will be held as follows:
- Port Pirie Markets – Sunday 11 February 8.30am-12pm at Memorial Park
- Port Pirie – Tuesday 20 February 4.00pm-6.30pm at the Port Pirie Library
- Crystal Brook – Thursday 22 February 4.00pm-6.30pm in front of Foodland, Bowman Street
- Port Pirie – Tuesday 27 February 4.00pm-6.30pm at the Port Pirie Library.
Further information on FOGO including Frequently Asked Questions can be found on Council’s website:https://www.pirie.sa.gov.au/fogo
Households that may require more bin capacity can call Council on 8633 9720 or visit our website to explore additional bin options.