THE new FOGO composting initiative has diverted 70,000 tonnes of waste from landfill in three years, keeping Ipswich on course to meet ambitious waste reduction targets.
Ipswich City Council introduced opt-in Garden Organics kerbside collection in 2013 and a Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) service in 2021 with an opt-in service provided to about 29,000 homes by June 2024 and a three-bin system including a dedicated GO collection service this financial year.
Together with an increase in residential recycling rates from 24 percent in 2019-20 to 26.7 per cent in 2023-24 and reintroduction of glass to recycling bins in 2021-22, which resulted in an extra 2300 tonnes being diverted from landfill, the Council’s Resource Recovery Implementation Plan is making headway.
The Council also recently started an annual free On-Demand Large Item Kerbside Collection service, which Council reports achieving 69 per cent recycling rates, diverting 1000 tonnes from landfill.
According to officers’ reports handed to Council last month, an extra $90 million will be required to cover waste levy costs up to 2034 if no changes are made to waste services to improve landfill diversion.
The waste levy was brought in by the former State Government in 2019 on all local government areas to improve recycling and recovery performance.
Ipswich generated 135,600 tonnes of municipal waste and recycling material last financial year.
The waste levy in Ipswich was $115 per tonne in 2024-25, with an annual increase of $10 per tonne each year while the Waste Levy Rebate received by Council decreases each year until it reaches 20 per cent in 2030-31.
Environment and Sustainability Committee Chairman Jim Madden said a review of Council’s City of Ipswich Resource Recovery Strategy 2021-2031 had shown the important benefits for Ipswich residents from key reforms in the delivery of waste services.
“Waste services are among the most challenging spaces in which our council operates, but we continue to meet these challenges head-on with the implementation of key initiatives,” Cr Madden said.
“Council has prevented an additional 500 tonnes of green waste going into landfill in the first month since the introduction of city-wide garden organics (GO) bins as part of a standard three-bin service across the city.
Cr Madden said Council was exploring enhanced service opportunities in planning for the new Southern Resource Recovery Centre, set to be built in the southern growth corridor, to give new life to items that would otherwise be destined for landfill.
He said Council was continuing to monitor long-term opportunities in this space.
