FAQs

The waste management needs of residential properties in Wollondilly Shire consists of two parts:

1. Collection of waste from your property

Currently, this includes the red-lid garbage bin, the yellow-lid recycling bin, green-lid garden organics bin (the green-lid bin does not currently operate for rural properties) and the twice-yearly scheduled kerbside clean-up service. 

2. Processing or disposal of all waste collected

Most of the garbage and clean-up waste is sent to landfill for disposal, with the exception of scrap metal from the clean-up service, which is collected for recycling. Yellow-lid recyclables and green-lid garden organics are processed and sent for recycling. 

The contract for waste processing and disposal will include four Local Government Areas (Wollondilly, Camden, Campbelltown and Wingecarribee), cover up to 20 years, and the facility will need substantial lead-time to set up - for example to procure land, obtain development consent, construct the facility and obtain operating approval. This means the contract will need to be awarded within the next 12 months. 

It’s important to have accurate and relevant data ahead of Wollondilly providing input on the contract scope, and decisions being made which will affect residents of Wollondilly for up to 20 years. Hence, we need to consult with our community now.

Energy from Waste (EfW) technology, also referred to as Waste to Energy (WtE) refers to a range of technologies that convert waste that would otherwise go to landfill into energy sources such as electricity, heat and fuel. EfW technologies vary according to the type of waste used, how it is processed and the type of energy it generates. 

There are more than 2,000 EfW plants operating across the globe including Europe, USA and the United Kingdom. These plants have been in operation for several decades and operate both in commercial/industrial and near residential areas.

There are a number of EfW plants currently in the planning stage or operational in Australia. For example, The East Rockingham plant in Western Australia will treat 300,000 tonnes of household garbage and convert this to electricity. It is expected that the plant will produce enough electricity to power the equivalent of more than 36,000 homes. 

The NSW EPA requires that only household garbage that has had recyclable materials removed may be processed in an EfW plant. 

The main type of system being built in Australia takes waste and applies heat to produce steam to turn turbines to create electricity. The process has high tech advanced filters to minimise emission of harmful gases. The ash that is produced is then taken to landfill or used for industrial purposes such as road base. Any EfW plant must comply with very strict government regulations with stringent environmental controls.

FOGO stands for Food Organics Garden Organics, and is a kerbside collection service where residents place food waste in the green-lid garden organics bin instead of the red-lid garbage bin so it can be recycled into compost. A FOGO system that works well means less waste is sent to landfill. This in turn means that landfills produce less gases that are harmful to our environment. FOGO systems also produce rich organic materials like composts and soil conditioners to help our farmers keep producing the food that we put on our tables. 

The NSW Government recently introduced a requirement that FOGO systems be adopted by councils for all households. This means that Wollondilly Shire will be adopting a FOGO system with the commencement of our new domestic waste processing contracts in 2024. 

You’ll continue to use the green-lid garden organics bins as usual, but you’ll also add food waste such as vegetable peelings from meal preparation, left-overs from meals, and food that’s been stored in the fridge or pantry that’s no longer fit to use. You're welcome to keep composting or worm farming at home; the advantage of a FOGO system is that the green lid bin can be used for food waste that’s unsuitable for your home compost bin or worm farm, such as dairy products, meat and bones. 

43 NSW council areas already have FOGO systems, including Penrith, Wollongong, Shellharbour, Randwick, Lake Macquarie and Bega Valley. 

Residents use a ‘kitchen caddy’, lined (if they choose) with compostable bags to store the food waste, which is later emptied into the green-lid FOGO bin. Because there’s now food waste in the FOGO bin, it would be emptied weekly. As the red-lid bin no longer contains food, the NSW Environment Protection Authority recommends that this bin be emptied fortnightly.

Some councils that have adopted a FOGO system have continued to empty the red-lid bin weekly, in response to residents’ concerns about odour from wastes such as disposable nappies, sanitary products and incontinence pads sitting in the bin for up to two weeks. A weekly service would, however, increase the cost of the system. The yellow-lid recycling bin remains a fortnightly collection. 

A circular economy provides economic and environmental benefits by keeping products and materials – such as plastics – in use for as long as possible. It maximises the use and value of resources, and brings economic, social and environmental benefits. It’s relevant in Wollondilly because packaging waste – including plastic – makes up a large portion of the contents of the red-lid bin. 

Local Government can contribute to the greater economy in relation to providing cleaner source separation of waste products such as glass, plastics and food waste. The more effective that source separation is, meaning the cleaner the streams of waste, the easier it is to use in the remanufacture of products. The down side is that the cost of recovery increases as more refinement of recovered recyclable product is needed. 

The recycling of plastics and glass has recently faced extreme challenges in Australia. There is an increasing belief that the future viability of recycling these products will rely on the development of a strong circular economy within Australia. 

Council can do a lot to engage with the community to create support for better recycling and source separation to support business markets for recycled products domestically in NSW and Australia.

No. Aside from any unacceptable items residents place in their yellow-lid bin, more than 75% of what's put in the yellow-lid bin is recycled.

It will. You wouldn't buy a bag of compost from your local garden centre if it had bits of plastic and glass in it, would you? It's for the same reason the garden centre won't buy it from the recycling centre that made it from the garden organics we collect at the kerbside. Just 3% contamination means the whole truckload may have to be landfilled.

Good news - we do!  At Bargo Waste Management Centre you can drop off computers, printers, TVs, mobile phones, household and vehicle batteries, scrap metal, polystyrene, motor oil, and anything that's accepted in your yellow-lid bin, all for FREE!  We also accept at just a fraction above cost price, mattresses, gas bottles and vehicle tyres.