$9.6M investment to support garden organics collection in Moreton Bay

• The Miles Government will invest $9.6 million to support the collection of organic waste in the City of Moreton Bay local government area.
• The funding forms part of a $151 million commitment to help councils across Queensland implement food organic and garden organic (FOGO) waste collection services.
• Organic waste is one of the biggest drivers of greenhouse gas emissions from landfill but can be converted into re-usable products like mulch or compost.

The Miles Government has committed $9.6 million to support the City of Moreton Bay Council in rolling out a garden organics collection service in the city.

The funding will support the delivery of more than 116,000 lime-green lidded organics kerbside bins to households across the Moreton Bay region as well as harmonisation for some existing bins as part of a nation-wide push to make bin lid colours consistent.

City of Moreton Bay Council will take a staged approach to the introduction of organics collection:

• Stage 1 involves starting a conditional opt-out Garden Organics (GO) service in early December 2024;
• Stage 2 involves the inclusion of food waste in the collection. The start of this service is conditional upon a suitable FOGO processing facility of sufficient capacity being available to process all FOGO materials collected in the City.

Implementing organics collection is a vital step in propelling Queensland towards state and national resource recovery targets and will substantially reduce waste going to landfill, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create jobs.

Quotes attributable to the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef, Leanne Linard:

“Most garden and food waste currently ends up in landfill, where it emits methane gas and leaves significant organic resources wasted.

“That’s why introducing food organics and garden organics (FOGO) is the next vital step in our resource recovery efforts.

“We are committed to halving the amount of food waste generated by 2030.

“Where organic waste is generated, we have set ourselves the goal of diverting 80 percent of it away from landfill. We are also committed to achieving a minimum organics recycling rate of 70 percent.

“Organic waste can be turned 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.

“Through recycling, organic waste is put to good use, with the important nutrients and resources able to be reused and put back into the environment as compost.

“The Miles Government has committed $151 million to help councils across Queensland, including the City of Moreton Bay, to implement FOGO waste collection services.”

Quotes attributable to the Mayor of the City of Moreton Bay, Peter Flannery:

“For a long time, locals have been calling for green bins to separate and manage their green waste, so I’m thrilled to be able to make this a reality for them.

“FOGO is a resource recovery project with the potential to bring our region’s recycling rate from 45 percent to over 60 percent by adding a new lime green lidded bin for organic material made up of food and garden waste.

“The introduction of the GO service for Garden Organics across approximately 116,000 households is an important first step in the lead up to full FOGO.

“Council currently produces electricity from landfill gases at its three landfill sites to power up to 7,000 homes in our region.

“This additional bin service is in line with our commitment to investing in sustainability and our local lifestyle as our city’s population booms.

“This is another way council is living our mantra of ‘Going Green As We Grow’.”

Further information:

The Growing the Recovery of Organic Waste via Food Organic Garden Organic (South East Queensland) (GROW FOGO SEQ) initiative is part of the Miles Government’s $1.1 billion, 10-year Recycling and Jobs Fund, and will deliver:

• More than 1 million new lime-green top organics collection bins made with recycled plastic.
• 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 bins to align with Australian Standards (red for general waste, yellow for commingled recyclables and lime green for organics), 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 environment outcomes and creating thousands of local jobs.

Led by Council of Mayors (SEQ), the plan is a collaboration with all 12 SEQ Councils.

ENDS

Media contact: Minister Linard: Scott Chandler – (07) 3719 7339; City of Moreton Bay Council: Sarah Perrott 0498 352 099