Lockyer Valley Regional Council the first in the state to roll out FOGO Trial
Lockyer Valley Regional Council will be the first Council in Queensland to roll out the Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) Collection system trial.
Council will implement the trial and further its commitment to the fight against waste pollution, all thanks to a State Government Grant.
Council was successful in receiving a $320,000 grant to roll out the FOGO collection system, with the trial set to include a total of almost 1000 homes in both Gatton and Laidley.
Lockyer Valley Deputy Mayor and Waste Portfolio Councillor Jason Cook welcomed the funding injection and said Council saw great value in bringing this trial to the Lockyer Valley.
“Managing waste effectively is both a global and local issue and comes at considerable cost to communities, which is why everyone needs to share responsibility.
“We are thrilled to be the first local government in the state to implement this trial and our hope is that because of it, we will see a reduction in general waste that’s unnecessarily going into landfill.
“This small change in household bin use has the potential to divert almost all organic waste from landfill into usable compost.
“I encourage everyone, not just those residents on the trial, to rethink food waste so collectively, we can make sure our region’s food and green waste is put to good use,” Cr Cook said.
Alarmingly, there is less than six years’ capacity remaining in the Gatton Landfill and, when that site is full, waste will need to be transported some distance, at greater cost to ratepayers, to external landfills. Organic waste currently makes up half of the waste buried in landfill in the Lockyer Valley.
“This waste consumes valuable landfill space and generates greenhouse gas emissions, which we can all do something positive about.
“FOGO collection systems have been implemented successfully in local governments across Australia, so they are not new, however we are proud to be leading the way in regional local government in this state.
“Diverting organic waste away from landfill will reduce transport costs, reduce the State Government’s waste levy liability and greenhouse gas emissions from both landfilled organic waste and transport to external landfills in the future,” Cr Cook said.
It is proposed to conduct a one-year full FOGO trial in select areas of Gatton and Laidley. Residents in the trial areas will receive a kitchen caddy with compostable liners and a 240-litre green lidded waste bin, serviced weekly. The FOGO bin will accept all garden waste, including trimmings, clippings and pruning; meat (including bones) and dairy; eggshells; seafood; leftover take away food; vegetable and fruit scraps; tissues, paper towels and shredded paper.
The trial will begin in August and participating households will be notified individually.
For further information, contact Council on 1300 005 872.
