Waste - how best to reduce, recycle and reuse is an issue that is demanding ever more work from governments at all levels, as well as from our communities.
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Where once it was a matter of household waste going into a bin and off it went to landfill nowadays the need to reduce that waste, recycle where we can and reuse where we can is vital for the environment and a sustainable economy.
One of the major changes in how we handle our waste is FOGO. This is a residential kerbside collection service that allows food to be added to the green lid garden organics bin so it can be recycled into top quality valuable compost.
It is expected that local councils will institute this particular recycling method. in the next few years.
Our neighbouring council Muswellbrook Shire was hoping to implement FOGO in July 2024 but at their March council meeting a report outlining proposed changes to the waste collection, following the introduction of a food and garden organics system (FOGO) later this year, was hotly debated.
A decision on that report was deferred to the April meeting to allow more information around costings and collection options to be presented.
In Singleton LGA Justin Fitzpatrick-Barr, Council's Director Infrastructure and Planning said as part of its target of 80 per cent of waste to be diverted from landfill, the NSW Government has directed the introduction of food and garden organic bins to all households by 2030 (NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041).
"Accordingly, Singleton Council has developed a long-term Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan focused on providing a whole of LGA approach that aims to provide a waste service that is reliable, sustainable and cost effective, he said.
"The Strategy includes a recommendation to introduce food and garden organic bins to meet the Government's target.
"Council is currently developing an implementation plan, and any change in services will be undertaken in consultation with our residents."
What can our council learn from the issues raised in Muswellbrook regarding the introduction of FOGO.
According to their Shire's report, that was deferred at the recent meeting, staff and Councillors received a range of community feedback about the transition to FOGO services from 1 July 2024, where the collection of green lid bins will occur weekly, and the collection of red lid bins will occur fortnightly.
One suggestion raised for Muswellbrook's 'transition' to FOGO was a trial for six months of a continued weekly red bin collection, however, this was not recommended in summary because it is not feasible with current resources and would attract significant higher costs for the community.
Trial of weekly red bin pickups for 6 months would cost Council in excess of $500,000, assuming the contractor could scale up to meet the request, and these costs would have to be passed on to ratepayers and at least a 35% increase of the DWM charges to fund it.
The other issue with the trial would be at the point 6 months post-FOGO, being December 2024, which is the suggested trial conclusion, Council would likely be faced with the same concerns, potentially multiplied, that Council will be 'removing' the weekly service.
The existing collection in Muswellbrook produces 13,500 bin pickups per week and the change to weekly FOGO and fortnightly red will maintain the same pickup workload, with the addition of transport of the collected FOGO to a processor.
In comparison, the suggested weekly red trial would produce an increased workload to 20,500 bin pickups per week as well as the additional transport.
Currently urban households' effective bin capacity per fortnight is currently 760L. With FOGO this increases to 860L.
Other concerns raised in the community was the length of time between collections of waste such as nappies. Residents said they feared the smell of discarded disposable nappies and sanitary items in red lid bins.
Several NSW Councils offer effective support for families to transition away from disposable nappies and move into modern cloth nappies in the form of targeted education campaigns, workshops, and rebates to supplement the initial cost of investing in cloth nappy solutions. Programs and rebates for nappy and sanitary products are implemented in other Councils and several examples have been summarised below:
1. Inner West Council: Offers a 50% rebate for reusable nappies and sanitary products (up to $150 for nappies and up to $100 for sanitary products). Reusable nappies, sanitary and incontinence products rebate
2. Sutherland Shire: Rebate for reusable nappies and sanitary products, including various reusable items like cloth nappies, swim nappies, and leak-proof underwear, to $50 per household.
Most recent Census data reveals that 6.01% of households in the Muswellbrook Shire have children under the age of 4 years old, and disposable nappies account for approximately 6% of red bin waste in these local households (2022 Muswellbrook bin audit).
To support households in this way Council could implement a cloth nappy education and rebate program with a small budget allocation, for a period of 12 months and reviewed annually. Modern cloth nappies present considerable savings for households over disposable options, with the cost over 2.5 years being significantly lower even when factoring in the cost of laundering.