Close to 1050 Holdfast Bay households have switched to a weekly collection of their green-lid kerbside bins in the past 12 months - while at the same time reducing their reliance on their red-lid landfill bins.
The weekly FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) pilot was the first of its kind in South Australia when it launched in September 2020 and has already proven to effectively reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill.
The trial's success has also seen it extended for another six months until at least April 2022.
In the average household bin, food scraps make up 30% of what goes to landfill.
Households apart of the weekly FOGO trial have almost tripled the amount of food scraps they are placing in their green FOGO bin and increased their landfill diversion rate (this being waste being composted or recycled instead of sent to landfill) to a national leading 84%.
Seacliff resident Kaleo Selah is a big proponent of weekly FOGO and says it's changed the way he thinks about his household bins.
"It really gets you into the habit of going to the green bin first, and leaving the red bin alone," he said.
"And there'd be weeks that we don't put anything in our red bin".
As part of the weekly FOGO trial, participating larger households or households with children in nappies/family members with a medical condition are eligible for a larger landfill or recycling bin. Council also offers rebates of up to $100 on cloth nappies and reusable menstrual items.
A recent survey of 196 participants found that 98% would like to continue with weekly FOGO kerbside collection beyond the trial's end date.
The voluntary trial is taking place in Seacliff and Kingston Park, and parts of Somerton Park and North Brighton.
