Some residents are expressing concerns that the new three-bin service launching citywide next year will, for them, be an unnecessary added cost.
Beginning in July 2025, Ipswich City Council will introduce a system of three bins that includes the new Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) green-lid bin supplied to all households across Ipswich, to be collected fortnightly.
These bins will accept food scraps, garden waste, and soiled paper and tissues, and will be accompanied by a kitchen caddy to help with disposal.
Their purpose is to help reduce landfill and greenhouse gas emissions, and simultaneously provide Council’s organic waste processing partner a valuable supply of compost — which will theoretically bolster the Council’s bottom line.
The introduction follows a recent 1,000-household trial of FOGO collection in various suburbs across Ipswich.
While the price tag for ratepayers is currently unknown, the opt-in cost of green waste removal had been previously $20 per quarter, in addition to the nearly $100 a quarter earmarked for general waste and recycling collection.
However, a resident of Camira for over 40 years said the FOGO bins will be practically useless to her and many others.
“I compost all my stuff. I’m on acreage,” the 80-year-old lady, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
“I pay $800 a quarter, I’m a pensioner… and now they’re going to say I have to pay $80 a year for a bin I don’t want.
“And I’m not the only one. My son’s around the corner — he does the same.”
She said the new service will amount to another financial burden for residents struggling with the rising cost of living.
“People out there on pensions, disability pensions, and young couples starting up [who] are paying off houses… You are going to be lumped for another 80 bucks a year for a bin that you don’t necessarily need.
“How many people are 80 years old, live in houses on their own, who hardly have any waste — because we can’t afford to eat most of the time?”
