Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO)

In 2021, NSW Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) mandated that all NSW Councils would be required to provide every household within their Local Government Area (LGA) a source-separated food and garden organics (FOGO) collection by 1 July 2030.

Currently, 61 of the 128 NSW councils have already implemented a FOGO service to their residents, with many more scheduled to follow suit in 2025/2026, including Singleton Council.

According to the NSW EPA, FOGO will help to divert half a million tonnes of organics from landfills across the State every year by 2027.

The Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service is making your green lid bin even greener.

Starting from 30 June 2025, instead of putting your food scraps in the red lid bin, you’ll put it into the existing green lid bin so it can be recycled into valuable compost instead of being sent to landfill.

FOGO bins can include food scraps like meat, bones, seafood, fruit, vegetables, coffee grounds, tea leaves, and dairy plus garden waste like lawn clippings, leaves, small plants, and flowers. 

• Council received grant funding to supply 240L green bins to all properties when the Garden Organics service commenced in 2017. Singleton Council has received no other funding to implement the FOGO service.

• There are approximately 600 commercial businesses across the Singleton local government area that have a Council-provided waste service. These businesses will receive a bench-top caddy as part of the introduction of the FOGO service. All businesses that receive a Council waste service should have received a green bin in 2017. If you do not have a green bin, please contact Council.

•  Rural properties cannot opt-in to the weekly red bin service as the red bin collection for rural properties has always been fortnightly and will remain the same. All properties including rural properties have the option to add additional bins of any colour to their service for an annual charge and these bins are collected on the same day as the other bin of that colour.

•  Council undertakes regular waste compositional audits. The most recent audit of the red bin showed on average that 25% of red bin contents comprises of food or kitchen waste, and a further 15% comprises of waste material that belongs in the yellow bin for recycling. This means that on average, 40% of the red bin contents for a household will belong in the green or yellow bins once FOGO is introduced.

•  The provision of an organics service to our rural areas is already in place and there are hundreds of rural properties that currently have a green bin and use the Garden Organics service. Collections from all rural properties will utilise the existing service currently in operation and does not require any additional resources to be added.

•  Rural properties cannot opt-out of receiving a green bin but may choose not to put the bin out for collection.

•  A number of residents have pointed out a section on the EPA website that there will be the possibility of exemptions for rural properties. This section is copied from the website as follows:

  Exemptions are intended to be predominately proactive where the EPA considers them necessary to limit the number of organisations needing to approach the EPA. We recognise that while we want all businesses and councils to meet the mandates, in some situations there may be more time needed e.g. when a waste contract runs beyond 2030.

  The EPA will develop an exemption framework to guide decision making.  As part of the exemption process some of the things we will consider are;
  

  1. Geographical and population constraints and the impact on processing availability
  2. Availability of infrastructure
  3. Timing and expiration of waste contracts
  4. Infrastructure impairments of certain building types like (multi-unit dwellings or MUDS)

  One of the guiding principles is that we do not wish to punish anyone where access to a FOGO service is limited or cost prohibitive.

  However, due to Singleton’s geographical location being close to processing infrastructure, facilities and major transport routes, we would not meet the criteria and therefore not eligible for the NSW EPA’s FOGO exemptions for our rural properties. These exemptions are aimed at isolated councils that would either collect very small amounts of FOGO over a large geographical area or must travel hundreds of kilometres to get the material to a processing facility, which is not the case for Singleton.

• Under Section 496 of the Local Government Act 1993, Councils are to levy an annual charge for the provision of domestic waste management services to each property for which the service is available. This charge is limited to the cost of providing the service to that property and Council does not generate a surplus from providing waste services to the properties in the Singleton Local Government Area. In addition, no revenue generated from the domestic waste service charge can be spent on any Council function other than the provision of waste services.
  
  

• Your green lid bin will be the home for all your food and organic waste, which is why it is moving to a weekly collection from 30 June 2025. A weekly green bin collection improves convenience, maximises food waste recovery, and reduces odour issues. Additionally, a weekly organics collection for residents and businesses is required under the NSW Government’s FOGO mandates.

• All food waste goes into your green FOGO bin including raw or cooked meats, bones, fish, bread, cheese, out of date food and seafood scraps.

•  In Singleton, 25% of red bin contents comprises of food or kitchen waste that once FOGO is introduced, will go into the green bin. With the removal of food organics from the red bin, Council resolved at last week’s meeting to default to a fortnightly red bin collection for both urban and rural residents but with an option for urban residents and businesses to opt-in for a weekly service at an additional cost. The fortnightly red bin collection provides a base service to all properties, and the option for urban properties to increase their red bin collection to weekly ensures all household structures, from individuals through to large families or multiple people living on one property, are able to receive a service suited to their requirements.

•  After the NSW Government introduced legislation mandating councils to collect and transport food and garden organics waste (FOGO) by 2030, Council developed a long-term Waste Management Strategy and Action Plan focused on providing a whole of LGA approach to provide a waste service that is reliable, sustainable and cost effective. The Strategy included a recommendation to implement the FOGO service to meet the State Government’s target.

•  The introduction of the FOGO service is occurring now ahead of the mandated deadline of 1 July 2030 for two main reasons. By implementing now, an additional five years of the environmental benefits of reduced waste to landfill as well as the reduction in methane gas and leachate will be achieved. Also, Singleton Council has joint contracts in place with Maitland and Cessnock councils for the processing and collection of organics. Council is introducing FOGO in line with our neighbouring councils to make the rollout more efficient and financially viable.

•  Due to Singleton’s geographical location, Council does not have constraints around accessing infrastructure, processing facilities or large travel distances to these facilities and is therefore would not be eligible for the NSW EPA’s FOGO exemptions for rural properties.

•  Residents and businesses will receive a 4L benchtop caddy and a roll of 150 compostable liners in June 2025 as part of the FOGO introduction. Based on discussions with other Councils that have implemented FOGO 150 liners annually will be sufficient for a majority of properties. However, Council will have a process in place for households and businesses to receive more liners if required. Initially, replacement liners will be made available for free, and Council will reassess this process after 12 months.

•  Our FOGO will be processed via an enclosed system that composts the FOGO material via aerobic processes. This process does not produce methane, and any leachate generation is captured and treated on site at the processing facility. 

• Urban households and businesses can opt-in to a weekly red bin collection. Council’s proposed annual domestic waste service charge for 2025/2026 is $675. Opting in for a weekly red bin collection would increase that amount by $185, to $860 per year.
  
  
• The move to a fortnightly red bin collection was the most cost-effective of four scenarios presented to Council’s February meeting last week.
  
  
• Singleton Council has a joint contract in place with Maitland Cessnock councils for the processing and collection of organic materials. All three councils will introduce the FOGO service from 30 June 2025 to make the new services as simple as possible for residents on the border with other LGAs.
  
  
• All households will receive a bench-top caddy and liners in June to help make collecting food waste easy—simply put your food scraps in the caddy, tie off the supplied liner and put it in your green bin for kerbside collection.
  
  
• Under NSW Government legislation, all properties in NSW—both urban and rural—must have a FOGO service.
  
  
• There is no other legislation related to potential changes in waste collections that Council is aware of at this stage.

• Under Section 496 of the Local Government Act 1993, Councils are to levy an annual charge for the provision of domestic waste management services to each property for which the service is available. This charge is limited to the cost of providing the service to that property and Council does not generate a surplus from providing waste services to the properties in the Singleton Local Government Area.

• The current waste service delivers one weekly collection (red bin) and two fortnightly collections (yellow bin and green bin). The introduction of FOGO maintains the same level of service, swapping the frequencies of the red bin and green bin collections. Opting in to a weekly red bin collection increases the level of service to that property to include two weekly collections (red bin and green bin) and one fortnightly (yellow bin) service, this increase in service level is the reason for the increased cost associated with the option of maintaining the weekly red bin.
  
  
• Four options for the collection frequency of the red lid bin were presented to Council at the 18 February 2025 meeting with differing levels of service and associated costs as follows:

Option 1: Fortnightly bin for both urban and rural properties with no weekly option.

Option 2: Rural properties maintain a fortnightly service and all urban properties have a weekly service with no fortnightly option.

Option 3: Rural properties maintain a fortnightly service and all urban residents receive a weekly service with the option of a fortnightly service at a reduced cost. Note: This option decreases the potential overall waste generation which slightly lowers the cost of the weekly service compared to option 2.

Option 4: Rural properties maintain a fortnightly service and all urban residents receive a fortnightly service with the option of a weekly service at an increased cost to the annual domestic waste service charge. Note: This option decreases the potential overall waste generation more than option 3, which slightly lowers the cost of the fortnightly service compared to option 2 and 3, however the cost of the weekly service is the highest in this option as a smaller amount of services will be responsible for the increased waste volume associated with a weekly service compared to a fortnightly service.

• Within the calculation of the proposed domestic waste service charge for 2025/2026, each option is based on the potential volume of waste generated through the kerbside collection of all three bins. The annual domestic waste service charge also includes the cost of delivering the annual bulk waste collection and trailer vouchers.
  
  
• All households will receive a 4L bench-top caddy and a roll of 150 compostable liners in June 2025, with an additional role of liners will then be provided to all households on an annual basis.
  
  
• Council will pay a tonnage fee to dispose of the food and garden organics waste that we collect to a contractor who then composts the material. Council is not involved in the compost process and there is no revenue generated for Council through the sale of the compost.
  
  
• The FOGO service will deliver environmental benefits through a lesser generation of leachate and methane gas, as well as cost savings from the waste levy with a reduced volume of waste going to landfill. This cost saving from reduced levy payments is included in the calculation of the annual domestic waste service charge.
  
  
• All urban residents should have received a green bin in the roll out in 2017. If you don't have a green bin at your place, please contact Council on T 02 6578 7290.

After considering four options to determine the frequency of the red lid bin collection as part of the FOGO roll out, Singleton councillors resolved at their first meeting of the year on Tuesday 18 February 2025 to introduce the service to all properties utilising the urban and rural split.

• Rural properties move to a weekly green bin and fortnightly red and yellow bin collection.

• Urban properties will move to a weekly green bin and fortnightly red and yellow bin collections but with the option to pay an increased domestic waste service charge for a weekly red bin collection.

Proposed annual costs for the urban and rural collections for 2025/2026 are $675 for the default fortnightly red bin collection, and $860 for the weekly opt-in red bin collection for urban residents. 

To opt-in for a weekly red bin collection, complete the online form below by 31 May 2025.

Red Lid Bin Weekly Service Request

With the introduction of FOGO, both food and garden organics will now go into the green bin which will be collected weekly from 30 June 2025 for both urban and rural residents.

Our bin sizes will not change, but Council’s decision to give our urban households the choice in how often their red bin is collected by opting in for a weekly service will empower our residents to decide what suits their needs, how much they want to pay, and how they can reduce waste going into landfill by taking up new services.

According to the NSW Environment Protection Authority, FOGO will help to divert half a million tonnes of organics from landfills across the State every year, saving councils money on landfill fees and creating a nutrient-rich compost for use in landscaping and agriculture.

On average Singleton Council collects 6,000 tonnes of residual waste from the red bin annually. The most recent bin compositional audit conducted by Council indicated that food and kitchen waste accounted for a quarter of this waste.

By diverting organic waste from landfills, we reduce the harmful health and environmental impacts and maximise the space in our landfill, effectively extending its lifespan. The organics we collect are also transformed into high-quality compost, which completes the recycling loop – from bin to garden and back again.

FOGO helps keep more organic materials out of landfill, offering multiple health, safety, and environmental benefits.

BEFORE the FOGO service starts, every household across the Singleton LGA will receive a 4L bench-top caddy, a roll of 150 compostable bags, and an info pack – delivered to their doorstep in June 2025 – detailing what can go in your FOGO bin and how to use the caddy.

The caddy and liners are designed to make collecting food and kitchen waste easy. Residents just pop their food scraps into the caddy, tie off the supplied liner and pop it into their green lid bin for kerbside collection.

AFTER the FOGO service starts on 30 June 2025, you’ll use your green lid bin for both food and garden organics. 

• Supplied compostable kitchen caddy liner bags ONLY
• Bakery Goods
• Citrus + Onion
• Dairy products
• Fruit + Vegetables
• Leftover Food Scraps
• Loose Leaf Tea + Coffee grounds
• Meat Scraps + Bones
• Pasta + Rice
• Seafood + Shells
• All Weeds
• Bark + Leaves
• Grass Clippings + Prunings
• Flowers
• Palm fronds
• Roots
• Sticks + Small Branches 

• Bamboo, Compostable Packaging + Utensils
• Bin Liners or Kitchen Tidy Bin Liner Bags
• Bricks, Cement or Building Materials
• Cardboard or Paper
• Electronic Waste
• Engineered Wood (Chipboard, MDF, Melamine)
• Food Scraps in Packaging or Plastic Wrap
• Household Garbage
• Nappies
• Pet Poo or Pet Waste
• Oils or Chemicals
• Plastic or biodegradable bags
• Recyclables
• Soil or Rocks
• Styrofoam + Textiles
• Shade Cloth or Weed Matting
• Treated or Painted Timber
• Vacuum Cleaner Dust + Lint

More information about the FOGO service in Singleton, including delivery of a 4L bench-top caddy and compostable liner to make collecting food/kitchen waste easy, will roll out to residents prior to 30 June 2025.

You can also learn more about the FOGO service via the Your Organics website.