After wheeling their way in the hearts of residents in some Townsville suburbs, time is up for the trial of lime green topped FOGO bins.
Making up approximately 46 per cent of the average Townsville general waste red lid bin, the program was designed to divert a significant amount of organic waste from landfill.
Now, Townsville City Council is working out if the program will be feasible across the board.
However, it remains unclear what the food organics and garden organics, known as FOGO, will look like moving forward.
Idalia resident Nikki Jankovic said she “really appreciated” having a FOGO bin, saying it was particularly helpful during the Summer months to dispose of lawn clipping and palm fronds.
She said it was “pretty easy” to sort household waste during the FOGO, thanks to the clear labelling on the bins and explanatory material provided.
“I think for us the biggest adjustment was just getting used to having our general waste collected on a fortnightly basis rather than a weekly basis,” Ms Jankovic said.
“With FOGO, it was (collected) every week, so it was always easy to remember.
“It has been a good program and I think it’s been really good for our household.”
With the federal government looking to introduce a FOGO or GO (garden organics only) collections by the end of 2023, the state government co-funded the 12-month trial to help Townsville City Council understand challenges with the implementation of a FOGO service, its effectiveness, and the potential for full scale rollout.
Producing valuable material that could be converted to compost or used to improve soil health, the trial was regarded as a way to support council’s ambitious goals of diverting 60 per cent of material from landfill by 2026, and zero waste into landfill by 2030.
Townsville’s FOGO trial launched in October 2021, with approximately 1000 households in Burdell and Idalia given a 240-litre FOGO wheelie bin, a kitchen caddy, a roll of compostable kitchen caddy liners, and information packs.
If a trial of food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bins was successful in Townsville, residents could end up having three bins. Picture: Supplied.
The bins were also provided to an estimated 500 households in Vincent and Heatley to trial GO collections for organic waste from yards and gardens.
TCC opted to extend the 12-month trial by nine months to gather additional data.
A Townsville City Council spokesman said by the end of the 21-month trial, more than 800 tonnes of organics will have been diverted from landfill towards beneficial reuse products such as soil conditioner or compost.
“Residents embraced the trial, with over 79 per cent of households participating, and the recovery rate of food and garden material exceeded Queensland Government targets,” the spokesman said.
Waste Services team manager Matt McCarthy and Townsville Water and Waste Committee Chairperson Russ Cook with the lime green-lidded bin and the kitchen caddy delivered to residents participating in the FOGO trial.
“The weight of waste disposed of in the red lid waste bin decreased by almost 5kg per household per week as a result of the diversion of food and garden organics to the third bin.
“Residents will be asked to leave their lime green lidded organics bin at the kerb for Council to collect following their last bin pick-up.”
Ceasing the trial will allow council to focus resources on the implementation of a potential citywide kerbside organics service.
Visit TCC’s website for more information.
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