Now that we’re only a few weeks away from including food waste in our green-lidded organics bins, it’s time to make sure that your household is FOGO ready.
Starting 16 November, Wollongong City Council will be rolling out the Food Organics and Garden Organics service — or FOGO — with the delivery of kitchen caddies to Wollongong residents.
FOGO caddies will be delivered to all households with an existing green-lidded organics bin from mid-November. Inside each caddy we’re providing a how-to guide, compostable bin liners and a sticker to go on the green-lidded organics bin to remind you what can and can’t be composted.
Wollongong City Acting Lord Mayor Councillor Tania Brown said that now was a good time to double check that your green-lidded organics bin is ready to go.
“Do you have a green-lidded bin that’s looking a little worse for wear? It’s easy to get your bin repaired. Simply contact Remondis to submit a request to have your bin repaired so you are ready for FOGO when your caddy arrives.”
To get your bin repaired, visit the or call Remondis on 1300 362 360.
Once you receive your kitchen caddy, you’ll be able to start diverting your food waste from your red-lidded general waste bin to your green-lidded organics bin.
We anticipate that FOGO will have a positive effect on our waste system. At the moment, Wollongong residents are filling up to 40% of their red-lidded general waste bins with food scraps. This equates to around150kg of food waste per household going straight to landfill each year.
“The big problem is that food waste in a landfill decomposes and creates the greenhouse gas methane. Diverting food scraps is a win-win as it reduces the amount of waste going to landfill, saving valuable landfill space and reduces the amount of greenhouse gas emitted into our atmosphere,” Cr Brown said.
Not sure what goes in your kitchen caddy? It’s simple — all food waste goes into FOGO! That includes raw or cooked meat, bones, seafood, bread, cheese, tea bags, coffee grounds, fruit, vegetables, eggshells, flowers and herbs.
The important thing to remember is to wait until your kitchen caddy arrives before you begin.
“We know that our community is very excited to start FOGO-ing! In the meantime, we ask that people do not put food waste into their green-lidded organics bin until the arrival of their caddy. This is important as FOGO waste is processed differently to general garden waste.”
