Hawkesbury City Council will shift its planned transition to the Food Organics Green Organics (FOGO) bin system, to allow more time for an innovative waste trial to be held.
The New South Wales Government requires all councils to implement a FOGO kerbside service by 2030 to reduce the amount of organic waste going into landfills and reduce carbon emissions.
Hawkesbury council had originally planned to transition to a FOGO system from 1 July 2027, this has now moved to 1 July 2029.
The council is partnering with Australian biotechnology company ARC Ento Tech, to trial one of Australia’s first waste-to-resource facilities at the Hawkesbury Waste Management Facility in New South Wales.
The trial aims to initially divert 20 tonnes of food and organic waste per day, converting it into fertiliser, biofuel and livestock feed.
The 12-month trial, which will commence in January 2026, seeks to help extend the life of the waste management facility and reduce methane emissions from food and other organic matter decomposing in the landfill.
It will involve the use of black soldier fly larvae to feed on the food and organic waste from the council’s weekly red bin collections. The larvae excrete a by-product that can be collected and potentially used or on-sold as a valuable fertiliser.
The council said the trial could also save Hawkesbury residents money by bypassing the need to introduce the FOGO system, while also generating a new income stream for the council through the sale of the fertiliser, biofuel and livestock feed.
The council stated that transitioning to the FOGO system will require a 12 to 18 month lead time. Postponing the planned FOGO commencement date by two years will allow the trial to take place and the results to be fully known prior to any work needing to commence on a FOGO system.
Should the trial be a success, the council will seek exemption from establishing a FOGO waste system from the New South Wales Government.
Construction on the trial site is underway.
For more information, visit: www.hawkesbury.nsw.gov.au/
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