Is FOGO Enough? Why Councils Must Think Beyond the Bin to Meet 2030 Food Waste Goals

Australia is a country full of passionate, innovative councils and communities who are working hard to tackle food waste. But if we’re honest about the scale of the challenge, no single solution—FOGO included—will fix it. If we're serious about halving food waste by 2030 under the National Waste Policy Action Plan, then we need to talk openly about the postcode lottery of progress and the diverse strategies that, together, can get us there.

No Silver Bullets in Food Waste Management

For years, FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) has been the cornerstone of many council waste strategies. And while it plays an important role in residential diversion, FOGO systems alone are slow to implement, can be logistically complex in dense urban areas, and often don’t work for high-rise buildings, small businesses, offices, or remote communities.

That’s where non-FOGO strategies come in—each with their own niche, benefit, and role in the bigger picture:

• Dehydrators like enrich360® | FOOD-FARM-FUTURE (Shameless plug!): Ideal for onsite solutions in schools, offices, and regional or remote locations. They dramatically reduce food volume and weight, turning waste into a usable soil amendment in 24 hours.

• Bardee & Goterra: Black soldier fly farming that transforms food waste into livestock feed and fertiliser—perfect for centralised food precincts.

• Anaerobic digestion: Turns food waste into renewable biogas and digestate—valuable at scale.

• Repurpose It & similar processors: Facilities that reprocess organic waste into commercial soil products.

• Biochar systems: Convert food and green waste into stable, carbon-rich biochar that improves soil health and locks away carbon for centuries.

• Community composting and circular kitchens: Scalable grassroots approaches that pair education with localised diversion.

The takeaway? These aren’t competitors—they’re collaborators. It’s not about picking favourites. It’s about crafting the right combination for the right context.

What’s Stalling Progress?

Many councils are already pioneering bold food waste initiatives, but we can’t ignore that others are struggling to get started—or are stuck in pilot purgatory. So, what’s causing this uneven progress?

Here are four key factors:

1. Leadership: The right champions drive change. Without them, momentum can quickly stall.

2. Continuity: Staff turnover quietly kills progress. Visionary strategies can vanish with one resignation.

3. Appetite for Innovation: Caution is natural—but too much of it holds us back from testing viable, scalable alternatives.

4. Funding: From pilots to rollouts, education campaigns to tech trials—none of it happens without investment. Tight budgets often force councils to choose "safe" over "smart," and unfortunately, that slows everything down.

The Postcode Lottery is Real

Some postcodes have FOGO, community composting, dehydrators in schools, and even black soldier fly farms. Others are still sending everything to landfill. It shouldn’t be up to your street address whether your food scraps go back to the soil or rot in landfill.

Let’s bridge the gap—not with blame, but with support, sharing, and serious intent.

So… Is FOGO Enough?

Not on its own. The stats say so. But that’s not a reason to despair—it’s an invitation to diversify, localise, and collaborate. The 2030 target is still within reach, but only if we:

• Stop chasing the perfect solution and start deploying the practical ones

• Support councils with funding, continuity, and connections

• Embrace a 'yes, and' mindset when it comes to technologies

• Back it all up with education, engagement, and leadership at every level

Councils are uniquely positioned to lead this charge. But they can’t—and shouldn’t—do it alone. Let’s turn down the pressure and turn up the partnerships.

If you’re working in local government, circular economy, or sustainability: what’s working in your patch? What’s been tough? What lessons can we learn from your wins—or your “well, that didn’t go to plan” moments?

The food waste movement is growing. Let’s make sure it’s going in the right direction.

#FoodWaste #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #LocalGovernment #Innovation #WasteDiversion #enrich360 #2030Goals #NoMoreLandfill #LeadershipInWaste #ProgressNotPerfection