Rockingham Mayor urges residents to get onboard with new FOGO system

The City of Rockingham has officially launched its FOGO kerbside collection, with Mayor Deb Hamblin urging residents to get onboard with the new system.

From today, more than 57,000 households can now use their green-lidded bins for all organic waste, including food scraps and garden clippings.

That bin will now be collected weekly and the red-lidded bin fortnightly.

"Our residents have said they want to have a sustainable future and at the moment we're diverting 39 per cent of our waste away from landfill and the state has targeted 70 per cent," Mayor Hamblin said.

“We estimate that through our collective efforts more than 12,500 tonnes of organic waste will be diverted from landfill each year thanks to this initiative.

“It’s all about reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill, recovering valuable resources, and moving closer to a more sustainable future for our City.”

Every household has received a kitchen caddy and compostable caddy liners. PIC: City of Rockingham

More than 20 other local governments have rolled out the three-bin Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) system which turns household waste into high-quality compost and soil products used in agriculture, landscaping, and public spaces.

Mayor Hamblin said while there was plenty of residents who were excited for the change, not everyone was happy that their weekly red bin collection would change to fortnightly.

"I know there's been a bit of negativity on social media but even when we stopped using plastic bags in the supermarkets everyone thought the world was going to end but people get used to it, so I'm really hopeful that people will see the benefit of this going forward," she said.

"We need everyone to come onboard with this. I know some people are worried that they won't be able to have their red bin collected every week but we will be collecting the green bin every week and it actually means that we're collecting more waste, it's just going to a better use."

One of the biggest concerns was from parents and pet owners who were worried about nappies and pet waste being left in the red-lidded bin for two weeks.

"We have been doing some public forums and events for parents to give them more information about going to cloth nappies...and there has been a subsidy around that," Mayor Hamblin said.

According to the City of Rockingham's website, other ways to help keep the smell down between bin collections is to store the bin out of the sun, make sure the lid is closed properly and use odour neutralising products in the bin, such as bicarbonate of soda.

For more information about the FOGO system including FAQ's visit, rockingham.wa.gov.au/FOGO.