- Shire of Peppermint Grove commences first FOGO collection this week
- The Shire is the 24th Local Government Authority to introduce the three-bin collection system in WA.
- Program supported by the WA Government, through the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER)
The Shire of Peppermint Grove has officially joined Western Australia’s growing Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) network, becoming the 24th local government authority (LGA) in the state to implement the three-bin FOGO kerbside collection system.
Weekly FOGO collection services help divert organic material from landfill and turn it into high-quality compost and soil conditioners for reuse in agriculture, landscaping, and environmental rehabilitation.
The rollout in Peppermint Grove is made possible through a joint funding partnership between the LGAs and the WA Government, administered by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation (DWER).
The rollout includes a comprehensive community education campaign, launching from April 2025, to guide residents on how to properly sort and dispose of their organic waste.
Residents are encouraged to place all food scraps and garden clippings in their green-lid FOGO bin – never the red-lid general waste bin – ensuring cleaner inputs and more valuable end products.
FOGO adoption is the single biggest action a local government can take to improve municipal solid waste (MSW) recovery rates.
In fact, as of June 2024, over 288,000 WA households had access to FOGO services. The Town of Cottesloe, a FOGO leader, achieved a 73% overall recovery rate in its first year – the highest of any WA LGA to date.
Residents play a crucial role in FOGO’s success. Keeping contamination out of the FOGO bin is vital. Only food and garden organics should go in – this ensures that processors can create high-quality compost products, which in turn benefit local gardens, farms, and parks.
FOGO not only reduces waste and greenhouse gas emissions but also closes the loop on resource recovery, transforming household organics into something valuable.
The City of Rockingham is set to follow, with FOGO services commencing later this year.
Visit: wastesorted.wa.gov.au for guidance on what goes in your FOGO bin.
Quotes by a DWER spokesperson, Executive Director Circular Economy, Adrian Wiley:
“The growing uptake of FOGO reflects a strong commitment to sustainability by WA residents.
“Everyone can make a difference by choosing to ‘do better than the bin.’
“Together, WA communities are creating a cleaner, more sustainable future.
“Every new LGA that joins the FOGO program brings us closer to a cleaner, greener WA. It’s encouraging to see communities like Peppermint Grove stepping up to be part of the solution.
“FOGO is a key pillar of the WA Government’s Waste Avoidance and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030.”
