FOGO kits to support households divert food waste from landfill

FOGO stands for Food Organics and Garden Organics. From May 2023, Maroondah households will be able to add food scraps to their garden organics bin. All food and garden waste will be diverted from landfill and sent to an organic processing facility where it will be turned into compost for use on Victorian farms, parks and gardens.

In preparation for the service launch, and to help households collect food waste in their kitchen Council will deliver a free FOGO kit to each eligible household, from March 2023.

 One of the most common concerns people have with using a FOGO service is how they collect and handle their food waste. Providing kitchen caddies helps to address this concern by providing a way to collect food in the kitchen and transport it outside, to their garden organics bin.

Those Councils who have provided kitchen caddies to households when introducing a FOGO service have reported a higher rate of food waste collected and diverted from landfill, when compared to Councils that didn’t provide kitchen caddies.

The base of each kitchen caddy is made from 100% recycled plastic, which is sourced from local facilities that sort our kerbside recycling.

If residents already compost food scraps at home, a Council supplied kitchen caddy will enable them to separate food that cannot be home composted - such as citrus, meat, dairy, takeaway food, leftovers and plate scrapings.

Council understands that some households might choose to use their own container or take food scraps directly to their food and garden organics bin. Households that do not want to receive a FOGO kit, can let Council know by Sunday 2 October, by completing an opt out form on our website, or calling Customer Service on 1300 88 22 33 between 8:30am - 5pm Monday to Friday.

Households that want to receive a FOGO kit don’t need to do anything! Their kit will be delivered from March 2023.

A roll of 150 compostable caddy liners is included in each FOGO kit.

FOGO services that provide compostable liners achieve an average of 32 percent more food diverted from landfill and have much less contamination from non-approved liners.

Council-supplied liners contain the food scraps which helps to keep kitchen caddies and food and garden organics bins clean and fresh. The liners also protect the kitchen caddy, prevent stains and make it easier to clean and continue using.

Providing households with liners for no charge ensures fair and equitable access to all households, including tenants.

Each year in May, Council will provide all eligible households with a roll of 150 compostable liners (approx. 1 year supply). If your household runs out before the annual distribution, there will be top up liner packs available at Customer Service Centres.

It’s important to note that only Council-supplied liners can be placed in the food and garden organics bin. Residents should not purchase their own liners from the supermarket. Council-supplied liners are made from corn which allows them to breakdown with the organic material into compost. They’ve also been tested and approved by Council’s organics processing facility. Non-compostable liners are one of the main contaminants of FOGO services. Using Council-supplied liners will ensure the end product is safe to use on Victorian farms.

Each FOGO kit will contain a pack of resources that will help households use the FOGO service correctly. Each pack will include an information booklet, a waste collection calendar, bin stickers and more.

If you have opted out of receiving a FOGO kit you will still receive an information pack in the mail.

Reducing waste to landfill by introducing a FOGO service is one of the priority actions of Maroondah’s Waste, Litter and Resource Recovery Strategy 2020-2030.

Implementing a FOGO service in Maroondah is one of the biggest opportunities we have to reduce carbon emissions, support sustainable food production and achieve our strategic aim of halving waste to landfill by 2030.

Council also offers a range of free on-call waste education presentations for community groups within Maroondah. Sign up to our waste event newsletter to find out about free upcoming seminars, workshops, competitions and events as well as information on educational presentations for schools and community groups. 

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