Implementing FOGO: A procurement challenge
23 September 2026
The phasing in of mandatory Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection services in NSW is a significant reform to local government waste management. It addresses an urgent need to divert organic waste from landfill, particularly in Sydney, and helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve Australia’s ambitious net zero targets. Councils will need to start early to successfully navigate the procurement challenges will likely arise in implementing FOGO collection and processing.
Recap on the FOGO mandate
Many councils have already implemented some form of organics collection, however the Protection of the Environment Legislation Amendment (FOGO Recycling) Act 2025 (NSW) (FOGO Act) inserted Chapter 5A into the Protection of Environment Operations Act 1997 (NSW) (POEO Act) establishing a mandatory source-separated requirement for both food organics and green organic waste from households and specified business premises across NSW.
The implementation of the FOGO reforms are staged to provide councils, businesses and industry with time to develop the collection and processing infrastructure necessary to support the transition to mandatory FOGO services.
The occupiers of ‘relevant premises’ – which includes schools, hospitals, childcare centres and other specified premises – must have sufficient food organics collection bins available at the premises, arrange for the collection and removal of food organics waste at least once each week, and ensure that food organics waste remains segregated from non-organic waste during transportation. This mandate is rolled out in three stages, with those occupiers with the largest residual waste collection capacity required to comply from 1 July 2026 and those with lower residual waste capacity required to comply from 1 July 2028 and 1 July 2030.[1]
From 1 July 2030, councils must provide households with either a combined food and garden organics bin or separate bins to accommodate FOGO waste generated by the household. Council must also ensure that food organics collection services are provided at least weekly and maintain the separation of organic and non-organic waste streams during transportation.[2]
Compliance enforcement
The FOGO mandate is supported by substantial penalties for non-compliance. Relevantly for councils, failure to provide collection infrastructure for FOGO waste – ensure that food organics waste is collected at least weekly and that collected organics are not mixed with non-organic waste during transportation – may attract maximum penalties of $500,000, with continuing failures attracting additional daily penalties of $50,000[3]. As part of the POEO Act, the FOGO provisions sit within an established environmental regulatory framework that already equips the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) with extensive investigative, compliance and enforcement powers.
Exemptions power
The EPA to exempt councils and businesses from the FOGO requirements.[4] In the Second Reading speech for the bill the Government foreshadowed several situations where exemption may be provided, including where:[5]
- FOGO collection is not practical, particularly in regional or remote areas
- FOGO processing capacity may not be available or may be cost prohibitive
- there are certain kinds of multi-unit dwellings where there are infrastructure challenges (e.g. room for more bins) and/or contamination challenges.
The EPA has already issued a blanked exemption for certain kinds of multi-unit dwellings.[6] It is possible that specific exemptions may be sought, noting the increasing importance of this housing format in Sydney and other major cities.
The Alliance of Western Councils, comprising 13 councils in Western NSW, recently commissioned a report on the costs of providing FOGO services in member councils. Several Alliance members have indicated their intention to seek an exemption from the 2030 implementation of FOGO in their communities, noting the high marginal cost to residents of adding the service, particularly where collection volumes are low and FOGO material must be transported long distances for processing.
Procurement considerations
The FOGO mandate has been coming for some time; we know some councils that have recently tendered their domestic waste collection or recyclables collection contracts have options which can be exercised to facilitate additional collection runs and accommodate changes in bins. In other cases, councils will need to vary existing contracts, or need to tender new contracts.
For some councils, implementation will require engagement with regional waste groups and private sector service providers to ensure sufficient processing capacity is available to accommodate the increased volumes of organics generated by the new regime.
The fact that this mandate is being rolled out across NSW means that there will likely be significant demand for collection and processing capacity, which may impact price and terms, particularly in metropolitan areas. There is also lead time for provision of new bins or trucks, if required. In some cases, councils may need to apply to the EPA for an exemption, although the way in which the EPA will administer this is presently unknown. For all these reasons, councils should plan early.
Given the penalties associated with non-compliance, contractual risk allocation is likely to become an increasingly important consideration. Councils will need to ensure that FOGO contracts clearly allocate compliance responsibilities, establish reporting mechanisms and provide confidence that councils can meet statutory requirements. Finally, councils will need to be mindful of probity and process issues arising from tendering new contracts, or variation of existing ones. Councils will need to ensure integrity in the process and achieve value for money, particularly given the relatively concentrated nature of the market, and the integration of FOGO services within the portfolio of existing waste contracts councils often have, including:
- avoiding influence of existing suppliers on the process
- protecting confidential information of tenderers
- rigorously monitoring conflicts of interest in tendering processes, and
- managing perceptions of incumbency bias to promote a competitive market.
Conclusion
The FOGO reforms mark a significant shift in waste regulation in New South Wales. Early preparation will also provide councils with greater flexibility to address procurement, infrastructure and service delivery challenges as implementation deadlines approach and, in some cases, apply for exemptions from the EPA where necessary.
[1] POEO Act, s.170F, Sch 5, item 78.
[2] POEO Act, s.170E, Sch 5, item 77.
[3] POEO Act, 170E.
[4] POEO Act, s.170I.
