Canberra food and garden waste collection scheme delayed a third time

The rollout of a program to recycle food and garden waste into compost across the ACT has been delayed again.Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection was originally scheduled to come into effect in 2023, but in 2024 the need to replace Canberra’s recycling centre after a fire saw the scheme's expansion deferred until 2026. In 2025, the scheme's Canberra-wide expansion was further delayed until 2028.But in a budget estimates hearing last week, ACT City and Government Services Minister Tara Cheyne confirmed the territory government was now aiming to introduce FOGO collection throughout the territory by 2030.Tara Cheyne told senate estimates the FOGO scheme will be delivered through a two-stage procurement process. (ABC News: Callum Flinn)"This is a complex city-shaping project," Ms Cheyne said."There is also only so much capacity in the market when it comes to capital projects, and capital projects of this size."ACT Greens Leader Jo Clay said she was horrified to hear of the hold-up."This is not climate action; this shows that climate is just not a priority for this government," she said."It's also a real shame for Canberrans. A lot of people really want to be able to recycle their food waste."Ms Clay said she had not seen "any good reasons" for the delay.Jo Clay says her constituents regularly ask when the FOGO collection scheme will be expanded to their homes. (ABC News: Stuart Carnegie)"This is not difficult technology. This is very well established," Ms Clay said."And actually, the ACT now is a decade, and two decades, behind a lot of other regions."She said her constituents regularly ask when the FOGO scheme will be available to them."I actually don't mind how we deliver FOGO services, but we cannot simply put it off for seven years, 10 years, 20 years if we are going to say that we take climate change seriously," Ms Clay said.Scheme delayed by need for new facilityBefore the FOGO collection scheme can be rolled out across the territory, a dedicated facility needs to be built to process at least 50,000 tonnes of waste.The FOGO pilot program provides households with a kitchen caddy and liners to store their scraps. (ABC News: Simon Beardsell)Ms Cheyne told senate estimates that the scheme is being delivered through a two-stage procurement process.The request for proposals is expected to be released in the coming weeks, shortlisting three contractors for the new facility.But Ms Cheyne highlighted FOGO does exist for some Canberrans, with the ACT having been one of the first jurisdictions in the country to implement it.A pilot program has been in place for more than 6,000 households in Belconnen, Cook, Macquarie and some Tuggeranong apartments since 2021.Ms Cheyne said it had received positive feedback.Tara Cheyne says the ACT's FOGO collection scheme pilot has received largely positive feedback. (ABC News: Jostina Basta)"Attitudes have always been pretty positive about FOGO, but they have also improved over time," Ms Cheyne said."We have been able to shape our response for some households where the fortnightly red bin collection has been challenging for whatever reason."I largely believe those concerns, where they have been raised, have been addressed — and that will inform our overall rollout."As of September 2025, 38 per cent of Australians had access to a FOGO collection service.The National Waste Policy Action Plan aims for the service to be available to all metropolitan houses and businesses by 2030.A problem Canberrans 'can solve in their kitchens'More than 5,000 homes in Belconnen, Cook and Macquarie have had access to the FOGO collection pilot since 2021. (ABC News: Jostina Basta)From 2024-25, waste accounted for six per cent of Canberra's emissions.Ms Clay questioned whether delaying the FOGO implantation would impact Canberra's ability to meet its target of net zero by 2045."This is a real problem, because food waste generates climate emissions for 20 years after going into landfill," she said."That food that we send to landfill in 2030 will still be wrecking our climate in 2050."She said the ACT Greens would continue to push the territory government on the scheme's rollout."Our waste emissions are going up; climate change is a problem," Ms Clay said."We have a climate crisis and people know that they want to solve this, and this is a problem that they can solve in their kitchens."People really want this solution."