Orange is celebrating more than 10 years since the introduction of the green-lid kerbside Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) collection.
The FOGO service offers residents a convenient way of disposing of food scraps and garden waste, which is turned into high-quality, low-cost compost they can purchase for their gardens.
From July to December last year the FOGO service kept 3856 tonnes of organic waste out of landfill.
WASTE NOT: the Food Organics Garden Organics collection has been operating in Orange for more than 10 years.
Orange City Council Environmental Sustainability Committee Chair, Cr David Mallard said Orange was the first regional council in NSW to introduce the service, in mid-2013.
“Keeping food and garden waste out of landfill reduces the production of greenhouse gases and saves valuable landfill space,” Cr Mallard said.
“Having access to the green-lid FOGO bin means we don’t have to put this valuable organic material in the red bin, taking the pressure off the general waste service, diverting resources from landfill and helping the environment at the same time.”
Food scraps and garden clippings placed in the red-lid general waste bin end up in landfill and are buried underground, producing a greenhouse gas known as methane, which contributes to global warming. In fact, 3 per cent of Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are methane from food scraps and garden waste in landfill.
The FOGO bin accepts all manner of garden trimmings including lawn clippings, leaves, small branches, flowers and weeds.
Almost all food scraps can be disposed of in the green-lid FOGO bin, except honey. We will accept:
- Peels and seeds
- Meat and bones
- Seafood
- Dairy
- Bread, pasta and rice
- Mouldy food
- Plate scrapings
- Small amounts of leftover cooking oil
No other material is permitted in the green-lid FOGO bin, however, some common contaminants are:
- Textiles
- Food still inside packaging
- Plastic bags (even if labelled compostable)
- Treated or painted timber
- Coffee cups (even if labelled as compostable)
- Clean cardboard suitable for recycling
Previously, Council has encouraged residents to place dirty or food-based paper products in the FOGO bin, such as oily cardboard food packaging, serviettes, tissues and pizza boxes.
However, the NSW EPA banned paper products from the FOGO bin in 2023, as they were found to contain PFAS chemicals, which can harm humans and the environment. The EPA regulations state that a small amount of paper can still be used to transport food scraps from the kitchen to the green bin.
Clean cardboard and paper should always be placed in the yellow-lid recycling bin, and dirty paper and cardboard, tissues and serviettes in the red-lid general waste bin.
