The WA Government’s vision for a three-bin Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) service has celebrated a major milestone after it was rolled out to more than 200,000 Western Australian households.
Environment Minister, Reece Whitby today confirmed FOGO had been rolled out across 18 local governments – with a further 13 committed to the system.
“The recycling of organic waste from households is the most impactful step Western Australians can take towards meeting household waste targets and avoiding associated greenhouse gas emissions,” said Mr Whitby.
“We know households want FOGO, so I would encourage those councils yet to sign up, to get involved.”
The Minister said waste recovery through FOGO had increased from 11,000 tonnes in 2017, to more than 65,000 tonnes last year. Star performers during 2021-22 include the City of Albany Council, which reached an overall recycling rate of 65%, and the City of Melville Council, at 66%.
He said per-household funding to local governments had increased this year as part of a $20 million commitment to support them through the ‘Better Bins Plus: Go FOGO’ program. Applications for that program have been open year-round since July.
In addition, $11.25 million of joint State and Commonwealth funding was awarded earlier this year to three facilities in metropolitan Perth, to bolster their processing capacity by 275,000 tonnes under the Food Waste for Healthy Soils scheme.
