Why can’t we keep our weekly red bin service like Maitland and Cessnock?
To answer this question, it’s important to understand that the domestic waste service charge levied within a property’s rates notice is sanctioned under Section 496 of the Local Government Act. This clause states that the amount of the annual charge is limited to recovering the cost of providing the service to that land. So, this means Council cannot generate a profit from providing residential waste services nor can the funds generated be used for any other Council function.
Singleton Council’s domestic waste service charge will never be identical to any other council as the charge is a result of service numbers, geographical layout, ancillary waste services and other variables. However, it’s always in line with this requirement of the Local Government Act.
The options Council had to choose from regarding the red bin as part of the FOGO service were:
- Provide all urban properties with a base service of a weekly red bin collection
- Provide all urban properties with a base service of a fortnightly red bin collection
- With the option to have a weekly red bin service at an additional cost
Council could have chosen option one and maintained the weekly red bin service for urban properties. However, this would have resulted in all properties being levied the higher domestic waste charge that residents can currently opt-in to pay for a weekly red bin collection.
Cessnock and Maitland council have both indicated that they will give their residents the option to opt-in to a fortnightly red bin collection after they introduce the FOGO service.
This means that Cessnock and Maitland residents will have the same two options as Singleton residents, being a more expensive weekly red bin collection or a cheaper fortnightly red bin collection. The only difference is that Cessnock and Maitland residents start on the higher fee and can a opt down in service level at a lower fee while Singleton residents start on the lowest fee and can opt up in service level for an increased fee.
Why should we pay more to keep a service we have always had?
Currently, urban residents receive a weekly red bin collection and fortnightly green and yellow bin collections, which provides each property with 104 bin collection per year.
Under the NSW EPA’s FOGO mandates, the organics bin must be collected weekly. With a fortnightly red and yellow bin collection, this still provides each property with 104 bin collections per year.
While this is a change in service configuration, there has been no change to service level in terms of bin collections per year.
Under the NSW EPA’s FOGO mandates, the organics bin must be collected weekly. With a fortnightly red and yellow bin collection, this still provides each property with 104 bin collections per year.
While this is a change in service configuration, there has been no change to service level in terms of bin collections per year.
The 2024/25 urban domestic waste charge was $627.50 and the proposed 2025/26 charge is $675. This increase of $47.50 is a result of increases in contract costs and other expenses related to waste collection and processing to deliver the service including 104 collections per property.
To provide any collection service to a property, there is a cost for each bin lift to cover the disposal or processing of the waste collected. Maintaining a weekly red bin service adds an additional 26 collections to each property’s annual service level to give them 130 bin collections per year.
The additional cost for the opt-in weekly red bin service is the overall cost of these additional 26 red bin collections for the year.
Cessnock and Maitland councils have opted to go with option one and maintain a weekly red bin collection. Therefore, their residents will be charged for this level of service that includes 130 collection per annum in their domestic waste service charge.
Council chose option two as it’s the lowest cost of service, while providing flexibility to residents and ensures they are only paying for the service they need and no more.
So, either way if a weekly red bin service is provided to a property the domestic waste service charge will always be the higher rate of the two cost options that residents can currently choose between as that is the cost to deliver the service.
The Council decision allows the residents to make this choice of service level rather than making it for them by choosing option one.
Why is Council implementing FOGO without consulting the community to see if they want it?
The NSW EPA has mandated that all NSW Councils must provide a FOGO service to all properties that have a red bin by July 2030. The mandate also stipulates that the FOGO (green) bin has to be collected on a weekly basis. As these two criteria for the FOGO bin are non-negotiable, there was nothing Council could consult on with residents.
Four options for the collection frequency of the red lid bin were presented to Council at the 18 February 2025 meeting with differing levels of service and associated costs. Option four was selected as the preferred option: Rural properties maintain a fortnightly service and all urban residents receive a fortnightly service with the option of a weekly service at an increased cost to the annual domestic waste service charge.
Why introduce it now when the mandate deadline isn’t until 2030?
The NSW EPA’s FOGO mandate for all households to have a FOGO service has a deadline of July 2030. However, Singleton Council is implementing it now for two main reasons.
The first reason for implementing the FOGO service now is that Council has entered a joint contract with Maitland and Cessnock councils for the collection and processing of organics.
This gives all three councils an economy of scale regarding waste volumes and collection numbers. This economy of scale ensures that Council gains the best possible outcome in terms of minimising the service costs to residents for the provision of the service.
The second reason is that Council will realise five additional years of the environmental benefits associated with a FOGO service, which are reduced leachate and methane gas generation at Singleton’s landfill due to the diversion of organic waste.
Why bother when the composting process will still generate methane and leachate anyway?
The FOGO material collected will be processed by an in-vessel aerobic composting process, meaning it occurs in the presence of oxygen in a sealed chamber or vessel.
This in-vessel composting provides the ideal conditions for aerobic bacteria to thrive by supplying them with food (organic materials), water, and oxygen, which are essential for their breakdown of organic matter, without the generation of methane gas.
The leachate generated during the composting process is collected and can be treated or managed through the use back into the composting process, on-site treatment, or treatment at an off-site wastewater treatment facility.
Why do rural properties have to be included in FOGO, we don’t need it or want it?
The NSW EPA FOGO mandate states that local councils are required to provide all households who receive a red bin waste collection service with a Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) waste service by July 2030. Therefore, Council is required to provide the service to all properties in the Singleton local government area including rural properties.
Why should a rural property pay for a service it won’t use?
Part of ensuring a FOGO service is provided to all households as per the EPA FOGO mandate includes Council having a collection contract or service in place for rural properties. Bin collection contracts allow for a cost per service, and this is payable to the contractor each time the collection is scheduled whether or not the bin is presented for collection.
Why are rural properties paying the same but don’t have the option for a weekly collection?
For the 2025/26 domestic waste management charge of $675, both urban and rural properties will be provided with the same level of service which is a weekly green bin and fortnightly red and yellow bins. Urban properties have the option to increase the red bin collection to weekly for an additional charge of $185. Due to the density of services and the travel distances required in rural areas, it costs more to perform a bin collection to a rural property compared to urban property. Because of this, a weekly red bin option for a rural property would be much higher than the opt-in cost available for an urban property and so this is not available. However, both urban and rural properties have always had the option to add an additional red bin service at their property that is collected on the same time as the normal bin. This option is still available for all properties in 2025/26, which gives rural properties the capability to increase their level of service in regards to bin services in the most cost-effective way.
Why not just have the contract be for each collection undertaken, then rural properties wouldn’t have to pay as they wouldn’t use it?
If a collection contract was structured where Council only pays for collections rendered it would not provide a contractor with any certainty of income level and dramatically increase their financial risk levels. This would result in either the providers not submitting a tender or providing a per service cost that was dramatically higher, which would increase the overall service cost to all properties.
But the EPA website indicates that Councils can get exemptions.
The NSW EPA website does have a section that contains the following:
- As part of the exemption process some of the things we will consider are:
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- Geographical and population constraints and the impact on processing availability
- Availability of infrastructure
- Timing and expiration of waste contracts
- Infrastructure impairments of certain building types (i.e. multi-unit dwellings or MUDS)
While there are properties that are rated as rural land within the Singleton local government area, we are classified as a regional town/city and do not meet these criteria for any possible exemption. This is because based on the geographical location within the Hunter and the size of Singleton, there are no constraints on the availability of processing infrastructure as there are several options for FOGO processing.
Why haven’t I received a caddy?
Properties with a 360L recycle bin service did not receive a caddy in the initial deliveries but will receive one before the FOGO service starts on 30 June. Council has been made aware that in some instances, not all units in a unit block have received a caddy. This is because these blocks do not have a waste service for each unit and have set up a communal bin system where services are shared. Council will provide a cady to the additional units prior to 30 June so that all residents can use the FOGO service. Council will also contact the managing agents of these unit blocks to discuss the bin options they provide to ensure it has the correct bin configuration to account for waste generation volumes.
What if I use all three bins for general waste disposal?
The trucks that collect the green and yellow bins have cameras in the hoppers allowing the drivers to tag any bins that are contaminated within their onboard system. This data will be monitored and properties that are identified as repeat offenders for contaminated bins will have their green and/or yellow bin service suspended and the contractors will not collect the bins after that time.
How will the driver know I have signed up for the weekly red bin?
Prior to the FOGO service starting on 30 June, a sticker will be provided to go onto your red bin to identify the weekly service. Additionally, the contractor’s onboard software will have the address tagged as a weekly collection.
What if I don’t have a green bin?
Council is currently delivering green bins to all rural properties that have not previously had a green bin supplied. Urban properties were delivered a bin in 2017 but if your property currently does not have a green bin and you are the owner, please contact Council to discuss. If you are renting at your property and don’t have a green bin, please contact your real estate agent to discuss.
Why can’t the yellow bin be weekly as my recycling bin is always full, so I have to put recycling into my red bin?
You can upsize your yellow bin to a 360L bin for a one-off charge of $75 for bin supply. After that, your domestic waste service charge remains the same cost as it did with the 240L bin.
Can I get more caddy liners when I run out?
Council will provide an annual delivery of caddy liners to each property. If a property runs out prior to the end of the year, there will be locations where additional liners may be collected. More details on how and where these additional liners can be collected will be communicated following the roll out of the FOGO service on 30 June.
Can I use the liners from the supermarket?
Please use the Council supplied liners only as the credibility of the liners available at the supermarket vary and using an incompatible liner could cause contamination to the compost. The liners rolling out with the caddies are 100% compostable – they comply with the Australian Standard AS 4736-2006. The supplied liners will not be separated from the organic materials or sent to landfill, they will be composted with the food and garden organics collected from residents’ green bins.
Can I use the caddy without the liners?
Yes, you can use the caddy without the liners and put the food waste directly into the green bin.
If I already compost, why do I need the FOGO service?
Home composting and FOGO can work alongside each other as there are a number of items that can go into your FOGO (green) bin that are not recommended for home composting. These items include citrus fruits, odorous foods like onions and garlic, meat, dairy products, greasy foods, bones and seafood.
Is Council introducing FOGO to make money of the compost?
Council delivers the FOGO material to the contractor and pays a per ton fee to the contractor who then composts the FOGO material. Council does not receive any income from the sale of the compost produced from the FOGO process.
Why can’t compostable packaging go in the FOGO bin?
There are numerous packaging materials that are compostable however, they generally contain chemical additives including PFAS, which can be harmful to the environment. FOGO bins are designed for food scraps and garden waste only, and these additives can contaminate the composting process therefore are not allowed.
Why can’t tea bags go into the FOGO bin?
Some teabags are made from materials containing plastic and use staples to attach the strings and cardboard tabs, so they are best disposed of in the red-lid bin. However, loose leaf tea and coffee grounds can be disposed into the FOGO (green) bin.
Why can’t dog poo go in the FOGO bin?
The composting process does not always kill off pathogens including viruses and intestinal worm eggs, which is why pet poo, pet litter and poo bags cannot be added to FOGO bins.
Option 1: Fortnightly bin for both urban and rural properties with no weekly option.
Option 2: Rural properties maintain a fortnightly service and all urban properties have a weekly service with no fortnightly option.
Option 3: Rural properties maintain a fortnightly service and all urban residents receive a weekly service with the option of a fortnightly service at a reduced cost. Note: This option decreases the potential overall waste generation which slightly lowers the cost of the weekly service compared to option 2.
Option 4: Rural properties maintain a fortnightly service and all urban residents receive a fortnightly service with the option of a weekly service at an increased cost to the annual domestic waste service charge. Note: This option decreases the potential overall waste generation more than option 3, which slightly lowers the cost of the fortnightly service compared to option 2 and 3, however the cost of the weekly service is the highest in this option as a smaller amount of services will be responsible for the increased waste volume associated with a weekly service compared to a fortnightly service.