The Queensland Government has announced the deployment of its $151 million GROW FOGO Program, supporting Queensland councils to roll-out more than one million organics bins.
The announcement aims to support Queensland’s progress towards its 2030 waste targets.
Gold Coast City Council, Ipswich City Council and Brisbane City Council are expected to be the first Councils to benefit from the GROW FOGO Program.
GROW FOGO SEQ is part of the Queensland Government’s $1.1 billion, ten-year Recycling and Jobs Fund, and will also deliver:
- Dedicated household kitchen caddies, made with recycled plastic, to help collect food waste
- Support to councils to deliver public education and communications activities to all households receiving additional waste collection services
- The support of bin harmonisation activities to standardise bin lid colours using recycled plastic to align with Australian Standards
- And support to the implementation of the SEQ Waste Management Plan, a collaboration between the Council of Mayors (SEQ) and Queensland Government
The plan aims to divert more than 1 million tonnes of waste from landfill each year by 2030, boosting environmental outcomes and creating thousands of local jobs.
Led by Council of Mayors (SEQ), the plan is a collaboration with all 12 SEQ Councils.
The GROW FOGO program supports the implementation of the SEQ Waste Management Plan – a collaboration between the Queensland Government and Council of Mayors (SEQ) – as well as the outcomes of the Queensland Organics Strategy and Action Plan.
The Council of Mayors SEQ Waste Management Plan identifies that up to 50 per cent of general kerbside waste collected is organic waste.
Organic waste is one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from landfill but can be converted into reusable products like mulch or compost.
The Queensland Government said that recent statewide data indicates that, of the more than 2 million Queensland households that have a general kerbside waste service, 92 per cent have a recycling bin, but just 17 per cent currently have an organics bin.
Queensland Deputy Premier, Steven Miles, said that Queenslanders are keen to do more to reduce, reuse and recycle waste and the next important step is the introduction of food organics and garden organics to the state’s resource recovery mix.
“Currently, most garden and food waste ends up in landfill, where it emits methane gas and leaves significant organic resources wasted,” Mr Miles said.
“Organic resources can be processed into high value compost, mulch, and soil products that can be used for a range of things, like tree planting, soil improvement, and revegetation projects.
“This means that important nutrients and resources in food scraps will be reused and put back into the environment as compost, keeping it out of landfill and putting food waste to good use.”
Mr Miles said that the Queensland Government’s ten-year Queensland Organics Strategy and Action Plan sets out how it will reduce the generation of organic waste and improve the management of this valuable resource where it has been generated.
“Our targets are to halve the amount of food waste generated by 2030, divert 80 per cent of organic material from landfill and achieve a minimum organics recycling rate of 70 per cent.
“The Council of Mayors (SEQ) SEQ Waste Management Plan demonstrates what can be achieved through strong regional collaboration, and the GROW FOGO program will support the rollout of new services for more than 3.25 million people in communities stretching from Gold Coast to Noosa.”
Council of Mayors (SEQ) Chair and Brisbane Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said that SEQ is the most liveable region in Australia and its waste management plan is all about ensuring it stays that way by doing all it can to reduce its impact on future generations.
“Since the launch of the Council of Mayors (SEQ) SEQ Waste Management Plan, we’ve been working collaboratively to implement long-term solutions for our region’s waste,” Mayor Schrinner said.
“Communities across the region including Brisbane, Ipswich and Lockyer Valley have already shown strong interest in trialling food organic recycling. With the support of the Queensland Government, we will see even more households transitioning to new green-top bins in the coming years.
“This partnership can help drive one of the most significant changes to household waste in a generation, and at the same time, deliver significant regional benefit for communities across the South-East.”
The government said that SEQ councils will need to demonstrate planning, financial and operational commitment to implementing organic kerbside collection for funding to be delivered.
Planning to roll the program out in regional Queensland is underway.
The Queensland Government has announced the deployment of its $151 million GROW FOGO Program, supporting Queensland councils to roll-out more than one million organics bins.
The announcement aims to support Queensland’s progress towards its 2030 waste targets.
Gold Coast City Council, Ipswich City Council and Brisbane City Council are expected to be the first Councils to benefit from the GROW FOGO Program.
GROW FOGO SEQ is part of the Queensland Government’s $1.1 billion, ten-year Recycling and Jobs Fund, and will also deliver:
- Dedicated household kitchen caddies, made with recycled plastic, to help collect food waste
- Support to councils to deliver public education and communications activities to all households receiving additional waste collection services
- The support of bin harmonisation activities to standardise bin lid colours using recycled plastic to align with Australian Standards
- And support to the implementation of the SEQ Waste Management Plan, a collaboration between the Council of Mayors (SEQ) and Queensland Government
The plan aims to divert more than 1 million tonnes of waste from landfill each year by 2030, boosting environmental outcomes and creating thousands of local jobs.
Led by Council of Mayors (SEQ), the plan is a collaboration with all 12 SEQ Councils.
The GROW FOGO program supports the implementation of the SEQ Waste Management Plan – a collaboration between the Queensland Government and Council of Mayors (SEQ) – as well as the outcomes of the Queensland Organics Strategy and Action Plan.
The Council of Mayors SEQ Waste Management Plan identifies that up to 50 per cent of general kerbside waste collected is organic waste.
Organic waste is one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from landfill but can be converted into reusable products like mulch or compost.
The Queensland Government said that recent statewide data indicates that, of the more than 2 million Queensland households that have a general kerbside waste service, 92 per cent have a recycling bin, but just 17 per cent currently have an organics bin.
Queensland Deputy Premier, Steven Miles, said that Queenslanders are keen to do more to reduce, reuse and recycle waste and the next important step is the introduction of food organics and garden organics to the state’s resource recovery mix.
“Currently, most garden and food waste ends up in landfill, where it emits methane gas and leaves significant organic resources wasted,” Mr Miles said.
“Organic resources can be processed into high value compost, mulch, and soil products that can be used for a range of things, like tree planting, soil improvement, and revegetation projects.
“This means that important nutrients and resources in food scraps will be reused and put back into the environment as compost, keeping it out of landfill and putting food waste to good use.”
Mr Miles said that the Queensland Government’s ten-year Queensland Organics Strategy and Action Plan sets out how it will reduce the generation of organic waste and improve the management of this valuable resource where it has been generated.
“Our targets are to halve the amount of food waste generated by 2030, divert 80 per cent of organic material from landfill and achieve a minimum organics recycling rate of 70 per cent.
“The Council of Mayors (SEQ) SEQ Waste Management Plan demonstrates what can be achieved through strong regional collaboration, and the GROW FOGO program will support the rollout of new services for more than 3.25 million people in communities stretching from Gold Coast to Noosa.”
Council of Mayors (SEQ) Chair and Brisbane Lord Mayor, Adrian Schrinner, said that SEQ is the most liveable region in Australia and its waste management plan is all about ensuring it stays that way by doing all it can to reduce its impact on future generations.
“Since the launch of the Council of Mayors (SEQ) SEQ Waste Management Plan, we’ve been working collaboratively to implement long-term solutions for our region’s waste,” Mayor Schrinner said.
“Communities across the region including Brisbane, Ipswich and Lockyer Valley have already shown strong interest in trialling food organic recycling. With the support of the Queensland Government, we will see even more households transitioning to new green-top bins in the coming years.
“This partnership can help drive one of the most significant changes to household waste in a generation, and at the same time, deliver significant regional benefit for communities across the South-East.”
The government said that SEQ councils will need to demonstrate planning, financial and operational commitment to implementing organic kerbside collection for funding to be delivered.
Planning to roll the program out in regional Queensland is underway.
