It’s a wrap – FOGO trial comes to a close

Published on 13 October 2022

Rockhampton Regional Council has officially marked the end of the Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) trial period, but the service is set to continue for most participating households.

Waste and Recycling Councillor Shane Latcham said all trial participants were given the option to continue to receive the service, and most were keen to keep going with FOGO.

“We have seen a really positive take up of this offer and we currently have around 600 households continuing to receive the FOGO service,” Cr Latcham said.

“The communities in the trial areas really did a fantastic job adapting to this new service and we wanted to thank them for their commitment.

“Those who have embraced the change will be a great example to the wider community when we roll out the service across the region in 2024.

“A business case is currently being prepared in support of a community wide roll-out, but while this work is being done, Council wanted to invest in the community who have demonstrated their willingness to adapt their waste behaviours.

“For most, it was a smooth transition to using the new service, and through our regular bin audits, we were able to identify where households may need a little extra support.

“We will continue to work with our community of FOGO champions to assist them along the way, as we gain valuable insight into any challenges they may still be facing in the year ahead.

“This will help identify where we may need to focus our efforts when it comes to assisting the wider community to adapt their waste behaviours when FOGO finally arrives.”

Southside resident and FOGO Champion Ronan Foolkes said he was grateful to be a part of the trial and can’t wait for the service to be rolled out region-wide.

“This is something that my wife and I have been supportive of from the beginning,” Mr Foolkes said.

“It has been a very easy transition for us and the sooner the service is offered to the whole community the better.”

Councillor Latcham said diverting FOGO from landfill is a critical step toward our strategic goal of reaching Zero Waste and building a circular economy.

“Putting organic waste in landfill is one of Council’s biggest generators of greenhouse gases, so it makes sense to divert it away from landfill and turn it into compost to improve soil on local farms.

“I want to thank all the FOGO trial households once again - in the last 12 months you have made a tremendous impact on our local environment!”

FOGO Trial Facts:

282 tonnes of organic waste have been diverted from landfill – that’s the carbon equivalent of the annual total carbon emissions from 19 households
Households with the GO service diverted 41% of their total household waste from landfill
Households with the FOGO service diverted 67% of their total household waste from landfill

To find out more about FOGO visit: https://www.rockhamptonregion.qld.gov.au/CouncilServices/Rockhampton-Regional-Waste-and-Recycling/FOGO-and-the-move-to-Zero-Waste-by-2050

If you were a participant in the FOGO trial and would like to provide feedback visit: https://engage.rockhamptonregion.qld.gov.au/fogo-trial-participant-survey-end-of-trial