Last night, Council confirmed that Port Stephens residents will continue to have a weekly general waste collection service when it introduces the Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service in July 2027.
The State Government requires all Councils to introduce a FOGO service by 2030, and Council recently sought community feedback on what waste services might look like with the introduction of the new FOGO service.
Port Stephens Mayor Leah Anderson said the decision reflects a Council's commitment to delivering on the community's priorities, while delivering a major environmental initiative.
"We heard loud and clear that our residents are passionate about keeping a weekly general waste collection, as it's vital for local households," Mayor Anderson said.
"While many councils across the state have moved to a fortnightly general waste schedule when introducing FOGO, our community emphasised that a weekly service is essential for daily family life".
"I'm proud we've been able to balance an environmental win without disrupting the service our community relies on," Mayor Anderson added.
Under the new system food scraps will be placed in the green lid FOGO bin alongside garden organics, rather than the red lid general waste bin which goes to landfill.
Commencing in July 2027, the regular bin schedule will be:
- FOGO bin (green lid): Collected weekly for food scraps and garden organics.
- General waste bin (red lid): Collected weekly with no changes to your current service.
- Recycling bin (yellow lid): Collected fortnightly with no changes to your current service.
The FOGO service brings major environmental benefits to Port Stephens by preventing organic waste from rotting in landfill and creating harmful greenhouse gases. Instead, tonnes of everyday waste will be transformed into rich, usable compost.
Council is delivering this project in partnership with the City of Newcastle to help achieve the state goal of halving food waste sent to landfill. A community education program, complete with practical household guides and workshops, will roll out ahead of the July 2027 launch to help local families transition smoothly to the new system.
