Organic food recycling about to begin in the northern suburbs

WITH only a few weeks until food waste can be recycled in green-lidded organics bins, northern suburbs residents are being asked to make sure that their households are FOGO ready.

Starting November 16, Wollongong City Council will be rolling out the Food Organics and Garden Organics service — or FOGO — with the delivery of kitchen caddies to residents.

FOGO caddies will be delivered to all households with an existing green-lidded organics bin from mid-November. Inside each caddy Council is providing a how-to guide, compostable bin liners and a sticker to go on the green-lidded organics bin to remind you what can and can’t be composted.

Once you receive your kitchen caddy, you’ll be able to start diverting your food waste from your red-lidded general waste bin to your green-lidded organics bin.

Council anticipate that FOGO will have a positive effect on its waste system. At the moment, Wollongong residents are filling up to 40 per cent of their red-lidded general waste bins with food scraps. This equates to around 150kg of food waste per household going straight to landfill each year.

Wollongong Acting Lord Mayor Tania Brown said that now was a good time to double check that your green-lidded organics bin is ready to go.

“The big problem is that food waste in a landfill decomposes and creates the greenhouse gas methane,” Cr Brown said.

“Diverting food scraps is a win-win as it reduces the amount of waste going to landfill, saving valuable landfill space and reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emitted into our atmosphere.

“We know that our community is very excited to start FOGO-ing! In the meantime, we ask that people do not put food waste into their green-lidded organics bin until the arrival of their caddy. This is important as FOGO waste is processed differently to general garden waste.

“Once you receive a caddy, you’re good to go. We’ll be sharing lots more information, FOGO tips and advice on Council’s social media channels over the next few months.”

Council advises residents that all food waste can be placed into the kitchen caddy. That can include raw or cooked meat, bones, seafood, bread, cheese, tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit, vegetables, eggshells, flowers and herbs.

Visit the Wollongong Waste website for handy FOGO hints and tips, or call Council’s Customer Service team for more information on (02) 4227 7111.

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