Rockhampton Regional Council case study
| Queensland Government funding provided | $265,000 |
|---|---|
| Trial suburbs |
Northside (GO)
Southside and Gracemere (FOGO) |
| Number of households involved | 763 |
| Waste services provided |
FOGO trial:
GO trial:
|
| FOGO items provided |
Kerbside organics bin (240L)
7L kitchen caddy Gracemere households were provided with 200 certified compostable liners (Southside households were not) |
| Total organic waste collected | 273 tonnes |
| Presentation rate of FOGO bins | 60% on average across FOGO and GO suburbs |
| Recovery rates |
93.2% total organic waste
50.3% FO 99.1% GO |
| Compost produced | 141 tonnes |
| Contamination | The average FOGO contamination rate was 6.7% (range from 3.6% to 11.4%) The average GO contamination rate was 2.6% |
About the trial
Rockhampton Regional Council (Council) undertook a kerbside organics collection trial across three suburbs, trialling food organics and garden organics (FOGO) in Southside and Gracemere and garden organics (GO) in Northside. All food types and garden waste were accepted in FOGO bins; accepted items in GO bins included garden waste and grass clippings. All organic waste was collected using council’s own waste collection staff.
FOGO was collected from both trial suburbs (Southside and Gracemere) weekly, and the general waste collection service was reduced to fortnightly, coupled with a reduced general waste bin size (reduced to 140L). To test the impact of certified compostable liners on organics recovery rates and contamination, Gracemere households were provided with liners whereas Southside households were not.
GO was collected fortnightly (Northside), with no changes to the weekly general waste service.
Council utilised a local provider to process collected organic waste, and it was processed using an open windrow system. Manual picking and product screening was used to reduce contamination. Compost produced was sold into the local market to a macadamia plantation.
Trial evaluation
Results and learnings from the trial included:
- 13% of trial households surveyed post-trial indicated that they would opt out of an ongoing service, however when provided the option, 33% of households opted out
- providing trial households with certified compostable caddy liners resulted in the recovery of an additional 21% of food waste
- clear audit standards would provide additional guidance for Councils in undertaking data collection activities, and would generate more consistent and comparable data across organics collection locations and periods
- council would have benefited from a contact database to enable direct-to-household communications
- single unit dwellings and multi-unit dwellings (MUDs) have specific needs – the small number of MUDs in the trial did not have very high participation rates.
Challenges relating to the trial included:
- FOGO materials collected from around 8% of households was severely contaminated:
- increased contamination was found in areas with higher proportions of rental properties, large and young families and/or lower socio-economic demographic areas. It was observed that, where the general waste bin was full, overflow was frequently disposed in the organics bin
- a simplified list of food items allowed in the FOGO bin may have reduced contamination
- increased education regarding the use of certified compostable caddy liners is required to avoid contamination by non-compostable liners
- councils identified the need to consider changes to local laws to improve compliance options and address serial contamination.
- A number of activities relating to the trial presented challenges to Council in relation to staffing, including:
- in general, the preparation and delivery of communications materials was resource intensive, and in addition, communications had to be tailored for problem contaminators and required council staff to explore behavior change science and resources, requiring additional time and resources
- labour costs related to surveys and bin tagging (for contamination) was higher than expected.
- Businesses that provide bagged garden waste collection services raised concerns with Council regarding the impact of the council collection service on their business.
- Two extreme weather events were experienced during the trial period, potentially skewing the data.
Communication and education
Communication methods and resources used during the trial included:
- invitation letter
- ‘Start up pack’ with caddy, liners and resources
- Online resources and customer support centre (run by council)
- flyers and bin tags
- social media and events.
Council undertook direct behaviour change activities in the second half of the trial, which were based on NSW’s Scrap Together campaign. A community survey was also undertaken to measure attitudes towards the new service with FOGO/GO trial participants.