Trial will assess food and garden waste recycling service for units and apartments

A TRIAL of a food and garden waste recycling service for multi-unit dwellings will go ahead with Wollongong City Council awarded a $261,000 grant by the NSW Government.

Council has been awarded the funding to conduct a trial to assess the use of Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service by residents living in units that don’t currently have access to a green organics collection bin.

The insights gained from this trial will help inform the expansion of FOGO recycling services to the homes of residents in units, eventually joining more than 80,000 residences in the region that already have a FOGO waste collection service.

This project is supported by the Environmental Trust as part of the NSW Environment Protection Authority’s Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, funded from the waste levy.

The 12-month trial will investigate a range of ways to incorporate FOGO collection across an assortment of residential unit configurations, from large, high-rise units to smaller unit dwellings, covering approximately 1,500 residences. A variety of aspects will be investigated over the course of the trial, including storage space, correct use of the green organics bin, and contamination minimisation.

Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said Minimising waste is everyone’s responsibility and finding ways to make FOGO a practical option for those living in units within the community is important.

“The reduction of general waste going into landfill across the Wollongong LGA since the introduction of FOGO last year has been pleasing to see,” he said.

“It’s very encouraging that Wollongong City Council has received this NSW Government grant. I think the knowledge gained from the trial will have positive effects on our long-term use and success of FOGO services.

“A large and diverse portion of our community lives in units. Adapting FOGO to meet their needs is vital to the long-term success of the program for Wollongong City Council, and this will provide invaluable information for other Councils also looking into FOGO services for their communities,” Cr Bradbery said.

The trial is set to begin on July 1 2021, and selected residents to be included in the trial will be contacted by Council over the coming months.

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