Council’s FOGO Trial reaches half-way mark
Council’s Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) Trial for the Lockyer Valley community has reached the half-way mark, and Council is inviting you to be a part of the celebrations!
Lockyer Valley Deputy Mayor and Waste Portfolio Councillor Jason Cook said the community is invited to come along and see first-hand how FOGO compost was used at Lions Park, Narda Lagoon on Wednesday 2 March 2022.
“From 11.30am – 1pm you’re invited to come along for a sausage sizzle and to see how useful FOGO compost really is.
“So far, our selected Trial participants have generated 220 tonnes of food organic and garden organic waste from their green-lidded bins, which equates to the weight of 44 elephants!
“This has been achieved in only 26 weeks, which is an amazing achievement for the residents who are participating in our Trial.
“With less than six years’ capacity remaining in the Gatton Landfill, we need a solution to decrease the amount of waste at the Gatton Waste Facility, and this Trial may give us the perfect answer.
“Participants have kept contamination at under two per cent, which has resulted in an ideal compostable product.
“The general bin waste has been reduced by 50 per cent in the Trial area, which is exactly what we hoped to achieve during the Trial.
“Residents who are separating their food and organic waste into the new FOGO bin have noticed how easy it is to separate their organic waste and show that good waste separation will produce lower general, red bin waste and landfill.
“As an added bonus, we have now completed our first compost batch from the FOGO green bin waste which will be trialled as a soil conditioner in community parks and gardens,” Cr Cook said.
The FOGO bin accepts 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.
A tree planting day utilising FOGO material is also being planned at Cahill Park, Gatton for next month.
Cr Cook said Council would review the outcomes of the Trial after the 12-month period and determine what the service looks like moving forward across the region, but is excited to see such amazing results so far.
For further information, contact Council’s Waste Team on 0417 416 223 or email fogo@lvrc.qld.gov.au.
