We’re all a go-go for FOGO

Published on 07 January 2020

Kitchen caddies are being delivered to around 14,000 kerbside collection customers as Council starts to roll out its new full food organics garden organics (FOGO) service.

Residents involved in the first stage of the rollout have been contacted directly by Council and this month will receive a kitchen caddy, compostable caddy liners and an information pack including a collection calendar. Garden bins will now be known as FOGO bins, and will be used for the new service. Residents in the rollout area who do not already have a garden bin will be provided with a new 240 litre bin (lime green lid) for FOGO.

The new service will allow residents to place garden waste and all food waste, including meat and bones, into FOGO bins. Collection of FOGO bins will be weekly, with collection services starting from the start of February 2020.

It’s estimated about a third of the contents of the average household rubbish bin in Macedon Ranges Shire is food waste. A FOGO collection coupled with a recycling service has been proven to reduce the amount of waste going into landfill.

Acting Mayor, Cr Mandi Mees said Council had been working hard to find innovative solutions to the waste and recycling industry crisis.

“We will deliver a more sustainable and responsible waste collection service in 2020 through the introduction of this new four bin kerbside collection service,” Cr Mees said. “We know our community is committed to reducing waste and we thank you for your assistance while we continue to trial and implement solutions.”

The four bins in the new kerbside collection service are:

Glass only (purple lid) Recycling (yellow lid) FOGO (lime green lid) Rubbish/general waste (red or dark green lid).

The new glass-only service will be implemented for all kerbside collection customers, and bins will be dropped off this month and early next month. The FOGO service will be phased in over five years, with the majority of the shire included in 2020 (year one).

Bin collection days may change when the new services start next month. An information pack, including a new waste collection calendar, will be delivered to residents prior to the start of the new services.