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What Governments in Australia Are Doing to Support Composting

Team Compost Connect, 23 February 2022
What Governments in Australia Are Doing to Support Composting

In line with the National Waste Strategy target to halve food waste by 2030, the Federal Government is committed to providing all households with a FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) bin by 2023. 

States, territories and local governments are developing their own strategies promoting measures that will prevent, reduce, and divert organic waste from landfill. Local councils will be responsible for the uptake and implementation of organic waste collections.

States Strategies For Composting

NSW

In order to reaffirm its commitment to the net zero emissions plan, NSW is mandating food and garden organics collection for all NSW households and select businesses by 2030.

Between 2013 and 2021, NSW provided a grant program to support Organics collection infrastructure and make it easier for households and businesses to do the right thing. Local councils and other public sector, business and industry, Community groups NFP and NGO could apply through this program to obtain fundings up to $2 million for individual grants and a total of $6.25 million.

SA

South Australia’s Food Waste Strategy 2020-2025 will ensure a standard three-bin system is adopted across all metropolitan councils, including a minimum service to all households with a collection of organics, including food waste. Providing all households in metropolitan Adelaide with access to an organics collection system by 2025

VIC

Through Victoria’s circular economy plan, all Victorian households are getting access to services for four waste and recycling streams. This includes food organics and garden organics (FOGO). A staged transition to the new system has begun, with a mandatory rollout of food and garden organics recovery services to households that don’t already have access will commence in 2026-27, with all Victorians to have access to a bin or service by 2030.

The Recycling Victoria Organics Sector Transformation Fund supports the diversion of organic waste from landfill and provided a grant program of a total of $10.2 million for organic processing businesses to develop new or enhance existing organic processing infrastructure to improve product quality or increase capacity. Future funding will open this year to support the growth of recycled organic.

WA

A consistent three bin kerbside collection system, which includes separation of food organics and garden organics from other waste categories, to be provided by all local governments in the Perth and Peel region by 2025.

The implementation of FOGO services will be supported by State Government through funding, to make it a cost competitive option for local governments.

TAS

From November 2019, all green waste bins in Hobart City officially became FOGO bins. All city residents, businesses and organisations have access to Food Organic and Garden Organic collection services.

A Waste Action Plan draft has been developed for the rest of the state, and Tasmania’s final Waste Management Strategy is yet to be publicly released.

QLD

Townsville City Council, Rockhampton Regional Council and Lockyer Valley Regional Council are currently conducting a one-year trial of the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection. The case studies results will be published in early 2023, however it appears there are no plans to expand the program into other areas for now.

ACT

A Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection pilot has started in November 2021 in Belconnen, Bruce, Cook and Macquarie The FOGO pilot is intended to continue through to when the service is rolled out to all Canberra households in 2023. No target year for the rollout to the rest of the state is available yet.

NT

State waste management strategy is yet to be released.
City of Darwin council has set up some actions to divert Kerbside bin waste from landfill by 50% by 2030. Establishing a medium-scale composting facility for food waste, garden organics and timber in 2022 onwards, as well as investigating food and garden organics (FOGO) collection in 2023 are some of the initiatives the strategy is exploring.

Local Government Composting Initiatives

Compost revolution

A number of councils across Australia have partnered with Compost Revolution. Compost Revolution is a program which educates and provides equipment to residents to reduce their organic waste through home composting and worm farming. Councils who have partnered with Compost Revolution subsidies up to 80% off RRP on worm farms, bokashi and compost bins for their residents.

Compost Collective Program – Inner West Council

Inner West Council created the Compost Collective Program to support composting within its community. The program provides free compost bins to the residents, and ongoing support through follow-up site visits and an online platform. Council also supplies eligible schools up to two garden organics bins

The Compost Hub Platform – Blue Mountains city council

The Blue Mountains city council has launched a great initiative promoting composting within its community. The Compost Hub is an interactive online platform that connects households that are not composting with households that are.

Free composting workshops across the country

Many councils provide free composting workshops like the following ones:

Some states and local governments are championing the implementation of organic waste collection and are leading the way towards a circular economy. But with only 25% of Australian Councils already offering Food Organic & Garden Organics (FOGO) collections to its community, things need to move at a faster pace.
Together we can help spread the word and ask that all councils implement FOGO waste collection right now. Help us by signing and sharing the petition on this page and send a letter or email to your Local Council or Member of Parliament.

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