The ACT's Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection pilot is being expanded into more than 1,150 additional households within multi-unit developments in Belconnen and Tuggeranong.
Introduced in November 2021, the FOGO pilot has been providing a weekly collection of food scraps and garden waste for approximately 5,300 households in the suburbs of Belconnen, Bruce, Cook and Macquarie.
"We are excited to announce that next month the FOGO pilot will be expanded to include an additional 772 households in Belconnen and 400 households in Tuggeranong – all within multi-unit developments," said Minister for City Services, Tara Cheyne.
"Roughly one-third of items put into household rubbish bins in the ACT is food. This is equal to approximately 26,000 tonnes of food waste going to landfill each year.
"Since the implementation of the FOGO pilot through until June 2024, the initiative has diverted 3,475 tonnes of food and garden waste from landfill and turned this material into valuable compost. This supports a circular economy within the ACT and reduces the amount of harmful greenhouse gas emissions that come from our landfill.
"The households added to the pilot in Belconnen and Tuggeranong will continue to provide valuable insights to inform a future Canberra-wide rollout of FOGO. Data collected will also provide insights to help improve waste management practices for multi-unit developments as a whole," said Minister Cheyne.
Minister Cheyne noted that participating households will be formally notified of their involvement via a letter and information sessions over the coming weeks. Information will be provided to residents and building managers on the correct use of FOGO within their buildings.
"This is an exciting development for the ACT's already successful FOGO collection pilot, with a Canberra wide collection service expected to roll out across the rest of the ACT once a large-scale FOGO processing facility has been built."
Participating households will receive an easy-to-use kitchen caddy with compostable liner bags for food scraps, along with a light green lidded FOGO bin within their shared waste enclosures. There will be no changes to regular bin collections within the expansion areas.
