Weekly FOGO Trial Kerbside Audit Results

A Kerbside Audit of the trial area was conducted in August 2024. The analysis was based on representative samples from residential properties.

In general, it was found that households who were on the Weekly FOGO service produced less waste and sent less waste to landfill. Waste that is diverted from landfill is recycled or composted. Those who were on the Weekly FOGO service achieved an average landfill diversion rate of 72%. This is a significant increase when compared to the pretrial average of 51%. Households who had opted out and returned to the weekly landfill collection, produced almost twice as much waste by weight. These households had an average diversion rate of 28%.

It remains unclear whether these outcomes are due to the trial naturally attracting households with a more sustainable waste separation mindset, or if the trial itself has successfully influenced behaviour change. What is clear, however, is that the Weekly FOGO model has the potential to significantly help the Council meet the state's waste diversion targets, set at 70% diversion by 2025, something that would be much more challenging to achieve through Community education alone.

It is also noted in the audit report that while there is an increase in landfill waste diversion, there is also a higher level of contamination in the FOGO bin among trial participants. The main type of contamination was food waste still in packaging or in plastic bags. This indicates a gap in participant understanding and presents an opportunity for education.

The full report is available in the Trial documents area of this webpage.