Tamworth FOGO organic waste trial: council to approach 250 homes to trial new kitchen scraps service

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) will kick off its Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) trial with 250 homes in early April.

The biggest change for residents will be to have their green bin picked up weekly, and the red bin to move to fortnightly, the council's waste and resource recovery manager Morne Hattingh said.

"The strong expectation is that the need for a weekly red bin collection will be eliminated because food scraps, which may account for 10 to 15 per cent of household waste, will be able to go in the green lid bin," he said.

"FOGO is all about reducing the amount of waste going to landfill and increasing recycling volumes.

"We know a fortnightly red lid bin collection is a significant change of habit for any household but our community has told us they want the opportunity to recycle more."

The trial is an opportunity for the council to identify any issues before the full rollout across the region.

The council has sent a letter to households asking them to join the trial, which is partially funded through a $502,000 Environmental Protection Authority grant.

Residents can attend an information session to find out more, and those who do decide to take part will be given packs with more details about the trial - including what can go in the green bin.

Mr Hattingh said he's optimistic the trial will give the council the information it needs to plan for when the Tamworth Organic Waste Recycling Facility is up and running.

"The trial will provide the opportunity to identify any aspect we can refine for local householders before the full rollout of the FOGO service," he said.

Participating households will try different options for collection containers or kitchen caddies and will be asked which they prefer.

The council will also look into how effectively the FOGO service operates at units and houses.

It expects to call for tenders to build the organic recycling facility in late May, with the build pegged to take nine months and the facility to be operational in July 2024.

Anyone who attends the information session, takes part in the trial and gives feedback will go in the running for one of four $500 Stay Regional Shop Regional gift cards.

A KITCHEN scraps trial that will inevitably see the red bin picked up fortnightly instead of weekly is set to kick off in Tamworth.

Tamworth Regional Council (TRC) is almost ready to build its $15 million Organic Waste Recycling Facility, which will allow it to turn kitchen scraps and lawn clippings into compost it can sell.

That compost will begin in kitchens around the city, as the public will be asked to toss their scraps into the green bin - which will be picked up weekly instead.

The organics facility pegged for Gidley Appleby Lane is almost ready to move into the tender stage, TRC water and waste director Bruce Logan said.

"We will pick that green bin up on a weekly basis, and your red bin which used to be picked up weekly will be picked up fortnightly," he said.

"That material in the green bin will be taken to our organic waste facility and processed into compost for sale locally, but also to customers as we have found a considerable demand for that."

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The council plans to launch a 12-week Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) trial across 250 homes soon.

"You may be approached to join that trial, where we will introduce the kitchen caddy," he said.

"Once we have done that we will then move to tenders to get that [facility] built.

"The council is going to operate it at least initially, so that's very exciting."

The council expects the facility to break ground within the next six months.

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