If it grows, it goes: Snowy Monaro’s FOGO education campaign aims to stick around.
In February 2024, Snowy Monaro Regional Council launched a new initiative aimed at increasing awareness and participation in its Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO) program.
Members of the waste education and communications teams placed 150 A3-size stickers on randomly selected FOGO bins in high-traffic areas one collection morning, with these properties receiving a letter explaining what the new initiative is all about.
The stickers feature the message “if it grows, it goes” and include a QR code linking to the council’s FOGO webpage, providing residents with easy access to guidelines on what can and cannot be placed in the lime-green lidded bins. The initiative is part of Council’s ongoing FOGO education campaign, which was launched in late 2023 in response to stagnating progress on reducing FOGO contamination rates.
FOGO collected from household bins in Cooma is taken to Council’s local waste processing facility, where it is transformed into eco-friendly Snowy Monaro Compost that is available for purchase by local residents and businesses.
This process helps avoid the creation of tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions each week, compared to allowing organic material to break down in landfill.
This campaign is one of a suite of measure Council is undertaking to help improve community knowledge and lower contamination rates, ahead of the region-wide expansion of the project in line with the requirements set out in the NSW Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041.
Between 14 November 14 and 14 December, 2023, 23.61 tonnes of collected organic material were dumped due to contamination, which shows how far the region still has to go.
The education campaign has also seen FOGO services and retail compost rebranded, with in-person engagement activities in the community and at local schools further boosting community awareness.
Fostering a community-wide understanding of FOGO will lead to better outcomes for ratepayers, residents and the environment. These stickers serve as a visual reminder that every effort made by residents contributes to a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly region.
