Fears about council’s controversial new kerbside rubbish system appear to be unfounded, with figures revealing a massive drop in the amount of waste going to landfill.
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The amount of general waste collected almost halved in the first fortnight of the food organics (FOGO) scheme, dropping from 406.92 to 208.16 tonnes, while the amount of compostable waste increased from 232.68 to 362 tonnes.
Wagga Ratepayers Community chief Lynne Bodell said the results were very promising and a move in the right direction.
“It’s going to take people time to adjust to it, but it has the potential to reduce the amount of landfill so we need to work towards that,” Dr Bodell said. “I think we need to get a lot greener with our waste.”
The city’s move to the more environmentally-friendly collection service drew considerable criticism when it was first announced last year, but with a worldwide squeeze on recycling, mayor Greg Conkey said society had to be a lot smarter about waste.
“We are getting the message that we cannot continue the way we’ve been going,” Cr Conkey said. “I’m really delighted with the way things have panned out and it’s been embraced by the community. This will extend the lifespan of our landfill cells, which cost $4 million each.”
The FOGO scheme allows food scraps including bones, eggs shells and tea bags to be put into the green bin along with small sticks, weeds and lawn clippings. The FOGO waste is then taken to Carrathool-based processor Worm Tech, which turns the waste into reusable compost.
Commercial operations director Caroline Angel said there had been low levels of contamination from the first week of FOGO material, but it demonstrated the support of the community in sorting their waste.
The FOGO collection trucks were fitted with cameras that could monitor what households were putting in their bins, so people putting plastic bags or items of clothing in the wrong bin could be told to do the right thing.
But for Cr Conkey, the system had an unintended consequence.
“My embarrassment is the amount of food my wife and I have been throwing out at home – I’ve spoken to a few people with the same embarrassment – and we’re changing our purchasing habits to reduce that waste,” he said.
For help on what goes where, see the A-Z guide at yourwaste.com.au.