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Wellington Shire Council to launch FOGO in 2026, turning food and garden waste into compost to cut landfill

Wellington's FOGO service starts in 2026, turning food and garden waste into compost. The weekly green bin will reduce landfill, cut emissions, and help meet Victoria's four-bin recycling system mandate.

By news@gippsland - 11th July 2025 - Back to News

Wellington's new FOGO service will give households a simple way to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill by placing food scraps and garden clippings into a dedicated green-lidded bin. The collected material will be processed into compost at a specially built facility at Pinegro in Morwell, with construction expected to be completed by May 2026.

Wellington's FOGO service will cut landfill waste by turning food scraps and garden clippings into compost at a new Pinegro facility, supporting Victoria's mandatory four-bin system

FOGO service begins

For the past few years, Wellington Shire Council has worked with Baw Baw, Latrobe City and South Gippsland councils to secure the contracts for the collection, transport and processing of FOGO. This brings the cohort into line with the Victorian government's mandate that all Victorian councils are required by law to move to a four-bin system by July 2027.

Wellington Shire Council Mayor Scott Rossetti said council was thrilled to be able to announce a starting date for the much-requested service. "We've listened to the community, who have told us how much they wanted a more sustainable future. FOGO turns waste into compost for:

• Parks and farms
• Reduces harmful methane emissions
• Saves trips to the transfer station to get rid of green waste
• Frees up space in your landfill bin
• Accepts items tricky to compost at home
• Extends the life of council's landfill sites - the benefits really add up

"Many thanks must go to our residents for their patience, and for helping us to divert landfill, reduce emissions and make a wasted resource valued again," Cr Rossetti said.

The introduction of a third bin will mean changes to collection frequency:

• FOGO (green lid) will be collected weekly
• Landfill (red lid) and Recycling (yellow lid) will alternate fortnightly

This means included households will put two bins out each week, with the additional bin providing extra capacity.

Sort waste better

According to a recent audit of Wellington Shire's bins, food waste makes up about 45% of our average household's red landfill bin, while material that could have been sorted into the commingled recycling bin makes up a further 10%. It is important each household sorts their waste efficiently to get the best use out of their bins.

In the lead-up to the rollout, council will provide households with information on how the service will work, what can go in the FOGO bin and how to prepare. Each eligible household will receive a FOGO bin, a kitchen caddy and an information pack to make it easier to collect food scraps.

Residents can stay up to date with the rollout by visiting Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO). In addition to introducing a FOGO service in 2026, Wellington Shire Council is preparing to roll out a glass bin in 2027, as per the state government mandate.

Pictures from Wellington Shire Council Facebook page.

Source: http://gippsland.com/

Published by: news@gippsland.com