FOGO service to begin 1 July 2027

13 May 2024

Hawkesbury City Council has set a target date of 1 July 2027 for the introduction of a Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) service in the Hawkesbury.

The NSW Government requires all councils to implement a FOGO kerbside service by 2030 in an effort to reduce the amount of waste going into landfills and reduce carbon emissions. For residents that currently have a garden organics bin, this would mean that, from 1 July 2027, all food and garden waste will be placed in the existing green lidded bins.

Collected food and garden waste would then be processed and converted into a useful, valuable and environmentally-sustainable compost product instead of rotting in landfill, taking up valuable landfill space and producing harmful emissions.

At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, councillors endorsed a FOGO Transition Plan which will govern the work over the next three years in preparing for the service, and the running of the service thereafter. The plan was developed in line with best-practice and with learnings from other councils that have already implemented or are currently implementing their own FOGO service.

Main features of the plan include:

1. Commencement date of 1 July 2027 and a comprehensive community information campaign in the lead up to that date,
2. No change to the frequency or size of red bin collections,
3. Increase in frequency of green bin collections to weekly,
4. The supply of compostable bags and kitchen caddies to assist residents with the collection and disposal of food waste.

For rural properties that don’t currently receive a green-lidded bin collection service, one will be provided in the lead up to the service commencement, in line with urban properties. However, some properties that are remote and rely on a central bin collection point will not receive this service.

While there is a financial cost to providing this service, particularly as the green bins will require weekly collection, Council has already taken steps with the transition process to reduce the impact on ratepayers in their waste management charge.

The introduction of the FOGO service in 2027 will allow residents to contribute to the environment by reducing their carbon emissions and supporting the creation of a useful and beneficial compost product.