Council receives grant to help residents get food scraps sorted

Wagga Wagga City Council recently received a NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) grant of $10,000 to help households become top food waste recyclers.

Manager Council Business Darryl Woods said Council was one of eleven councils to share in $240,150 under the Scrap Together grants program.

“This project will see the Scrap Together campaign rolled out across the Wagga Wagga Local Government Area where it will help residents understand what happens to food waste collected in their kerbside green lid bin and encourage them to use it well,” Mr Woods said.

The campaign was piloted in Clarence Valley, Kempsey, and Forbes local government areas and proved popular with residents, resulting in an average of 10 per cent increase in food waste recovered for recycling.

“This funding will help keep food and garden waste out of landfill to be processed into compost that will improve soil health,” Mr Woods said.

“It will enable Council to roll out an engaging campaign that will remind residents of the environmental benefits of recycling your food waste and how to use the service to best advantage.”

Head of EPA Organics Unit Amanda Kane said this funding round enabled 25 councils to deliver the Scrap Together campaign materials, which includes videos, radio advertisements, mailbox drops and print advertising.

She said the NSW Government had allocated an additional $69 million over the next five years to further expand FOGO services and support councils to meet new requirements under the Government’s Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 to provide services to all NSW households by 2030.

For more information about waste and recycling, visit wagga.nsw.gov.au/waste