Bega Valley Shire Council has opened a competitive tender process to outsource its popular FOGO organics processing service.
The initiative is an interim measure to address growing demand for FOGO services while a state-of-the-art organics plant at Council's Central Waste Facility (CWF) near Wolumla is planned, designed, and constructed.
"Five-years of FOGO in the Bega Valley has resulted in us delivering an award-winning service that we are incredibly proud of," Waste Services Manager, Alan Gundrill said.
"However, the popularity of the FOGO service means the volumes of feedstock we are receiving at its current home at the Merimbula Waste Transfer Station is challenging to manage.
"While we are preparing for a new long-term home for FOGO processing at the CWF, we need to find an interim service provider to continue composting the Bega Valley's high-quality FOGO feedstock."
Mr Gundrill said if Council continues to use the Merimbula Waste Transfer Station to process organic waste at current volumes, it runs the risk of impacting the local environment and waterways.
"This tender process is designed to test the feasibility of operating our FOGO service through an outsourced agreement with a third party.
"Having come so far in providing this service, both Council and the community obviously have high expectations of the FOGO service and product.
"We would expect this same level of service to be met or improved and we reserve our right to refuse all options if a reduction in service level seems likely.
"Prospective tenderers are invited to submit their vision of how to work with us in delivering this valuable service. This may involve full or partial offsite processing where compost and mulch production is shared across two sites."
The competitive tender is now open until 12pm on Wednesday 12 July.
A new organics processing plant at the CWF is expected to be operational by 2026.
Interested parties should register as a supplier via Council's Vendor Panel.
