Date confirmed for citywide FOGO rollout across Ipswich
19 February 2024
Ipswich City Council has confirmed the city will move to a three-bin system, including a dedicated Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) waste collection service, in mid-2025 with plenty of work already underway.
Ipswich residents can already access an opt-in green bin FOGO collection service. A resolution in last Thursday’s ordinary council meeting will now see a citywide FOGO service commencing at the start of the 2025-2026 financial year.
Council CEO Sonia Cooper said the three-bin service was originally slated to commence in the 2024-2025 financial year, but the later start would help council better navigate the current uncertainty in the organics processing market.
“Council has made a sensible decision to start its citywide FOGO service in mid-2025 to give the organic processing market time to grow and mature and give council clarity on the best way to move forward,” Ms Cooper said.
“There is a lot happening in this space, with the most notable being concerns from our community around waste odours and legal action now underway.
“We are now busy preparing for a smooth transition to the citywide service with the purchase of 68,000 FOGO bins and six trucks already completed and the citywide kerbside bin lid colour harmonisation process finalised as of December 2023.
“This was a significant project which saw the replacement of more than 15,000 old dark green general waste bin lids with new Australian Standard red coloured lids across Ipswich.
“The citywide service seeks to achieve the maximum amount of food and green waste being captured and diverted away from ending up in landfill.”
Ms Cooper said council and the Queensland Government would continue to work collaboratively to ensure there is a smooth and supported transition to the three-bin system for residents and in selecting a provider to process Ipswich’s food and green waste.
“We have been successful in securing $9.5 million funding from the State Government to assist council to deliver on our citywide FOGO through their Grow FOGO program. This includes a significant investment in education and awareness for the Ipswich community,” Ms Cooper said.
“This additional roll-out time will allow council to develop a FOGO program that addresses the rapidly evolving changes within waste management, and to continue discussions with the State Government and other SEQ councils on the best solutions for our community in the collection and processing of food and green organics.”
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