Our Weekly Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) collection trial is past the halfway mark and we’ve got some exciting results to share.

The 12 month trial, which commenced in May 2023 with 1,200 households in Seaton and Tennyson having weekly FOGO (green lid) bin collections, with their general waste bin changing to a fortnightly collection, has seen some significant success in the mid-trial results.

Increased Diversion of Kerbside Materials to Landfill
Those who have taken part in the trial are now diverting 78% of kerbside materials from landfill compared to 47% for those who have opted out of the trial.

Reduced Household Waste
The weekly FOGO trial participants have reduced their household waste generation to an average of 15.1kg per household per week, compared to 17.2kg for the opt-out group. This is down from the average of 17.8kg collectively prior to the trial commencing.

Increased Food Waste Recycling
The weekly FOGO group now successfully recovers 61% of food waste, this is a significant improvement from the 11% observed pre-trial. There has been no behavior change within the opt-out cohort with 0.3kg per household still being recycled in the green bin and 3.4kg of food waste per household ending up in the landfill bin.

Positive Feedback with Participants
We asked participants for their feedback on the trial with 70% expressed they were satisfied with the weekly FOGO and fortnightly landfill collections, and 52% reporting they were extremely satisfied.

A total of 64% of participants indicated they would like to continue with the weekly FOGO service, while 30% indicated they would like to return to the standard three bin service and 6% percent remain undecided.

These results show significant behavioral change with the Weekly FOGO group halfway through the trial and which indicates it's a result of the frequency of bin collection.

Following a report to Council on 11 December 2023, considerations to continue the trial are subject to future budget and pending outcomes of the full-term trial results at the end of the initial 12 month trial in late April 2024. Those in the trial areas in Seaton and Tennyson will receive further communications closer to the end of the trial to advise of what’s next.

We thank Green Industries South Australia for enabling this trial through their funding.