Despite ‘smell issues’, NSW plans to mandate household food scraps collection

Almost every household and business in NSW will have a weekly compost collection from July 2030, under proposed legislation to mandate food waste recycling and reduce landfill.

Overriding a plea by the NSW Local Government Association not to mandate the frequency of collection, the bill says councils must collect food scraps weekly, either separately or in a combined “food organics garden organics” (FOGO) bin.

Michelle Gray and her son Harry with their FOGO bin in Rose Bay.Credit: Wolter Peeters

NSW Environment Minister Penny Sharpe said in her second reading of the Protection of the Environment Legislation Amendment (FOGO Recycling) Bill 2024 last month that stipulating the frequency of service would “ensure that households are not discouraged from using FOGO because of the decomposition of material before collection”.

“We are aware of the smell issues – this mandated collection frequency aims to address that,” Sharpe said.

The aim is to reduce the waste going to landfill, with space running out in Greater Sydney and some regional areas, and to reduce greenhouse emissions. Rotting organic material in landfill releases methane, which is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide for global warming.

It comes as a leaked draft of the biannual review of the National Waste Policy Action Plan suggests Australia is unlikely to meet a number of its waste targets, including the goal to halve the amount of organic waste going to landfill by 2030.

The report, obtained by the Herald, found 28 per cent of local governments across the country provide FOGO services, and 15 per cent provide garden-only bin collection. Yet, the amount of organic waste going to landfill rose by 3 per cent to 5.89 megatonnes between 2016-17 and 2021-22.

The bill also includes mandates for businesses, which is believed to be a first in Australia. A NSW Environment Protection Authority spokesperson said the introduction of the bill meant the state was “leading Australia in food waste reduction”, promising a statewide education campaign to support the new laws.

Sharpe said the bill was necessary to reduce the amount of organic waste going into landfill.

“There is no beating about the bush – Greater Sydney is running out of landfill. Our recycling rates have stagnated at 2016 levels,” Sharpe told parliament.

“There are problems in regional areas too – areas like Port Macquarie and Coffs Harbour are also predicted to reach capacity within the decade.”

Michelle Gray says FOGO has been “a good learning experience” for her children.Credit: Wolter Peeters

On average, food waste makes up more than a third of the material in NSW household red (general rubbish) bins, Sharpe said, and applying the mandates to all households could divert almost 950,000 tonnes of FOGO waste from landfill each year.

The EPA spokesperson said, after a decade of government support, there were at least 32 industrial-scale compost facilities in NSW, and the mandates would encourage further investment.

For Sydney councils already offering FOGO, the rollout has been bumpy at times. Residents have reported missed bin collections, leading to stench and fly infestations. Moves to reduce general waste collection to fortnightly, as the Inner West Council did last year, are also controversial.

Separating food scraps will not be a problem for the Gray household in Rose Bay.

Michelle Gray, her husband and her three children are part of a Waverley Council FOGO trial.

Previously, the family composted fruit and vegetable scraps at home but sent the remains of eggs, dairy, meat, bread and grains to landfill. Now it all goes in the green (FOGO) bin.

“I really liked doing it ourselves, but I also like knowing other people are doing it, so there’s a collective reduction in landfill,” Gray said.

“It’s been a good learning experience for [the kids] as well. Kids adapt a lot quicker than adults, and they know that when they finish eating their dinner, their waste goes into FOGO now.”

As a former local councillor, Gray is aware of the pushback from some residents but believes it is necessary for environmental reasons.

From July 2030, councils must offer a weekly organic waste bin collection and ensure the waste is not contaminated during transport, or face penalties of up to $500,000, or $50,000 a day. The Local Government Association’s submission to the EPA in July opposed fines.

Rules for businesses and other institutions will be phased in from 2026 to 2030 and there will be similar fines. There are no fines for households.

The bill also requires large supermarkets to record their food donations monthly from July 2026, and permits the EPA to publish the figures.

Sharpe told parliament that fines reflected the importance of the mandates, but the approach would not be “draconian”, and there would be exemptions where needed.

The Coalition supported development of FOGO while in government but does not yet have a position on the bill. The Greens are yet to examine the bill in detail but welcomed the issue being on the agenda.

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