The agenda for tonight’s meeting of Mount Alexander Shire Council is out, and FOGO (Food Organics Green Organics) is top of the list – leaving members of YIMBY (Yes in My Backyard) and the newly formed Mount Alexander Organics Partnership (MAOP) feeling confused.
MAOP spokesperson Mikaela Beckley said the group was perplexed by the council’s decision to take a vote on FOGO now, without fully considering the MOAP plan.
“The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting implies there is an ongoing partnership between us. We would love that to be realised,” she said.
“It’s frustrating – so many people have come together for this new partnership and developed an alternative model for processing our food and garden waste.
“We’ve been waiting to get their response – but now it seems that our alternative model isn’t even being considered,” Ms Beckley said.
The council report recommends that councillors approve the rollout of FOGO (green bins) from July 2027.
MASC manager of operations Cameron Duthie told the Express that the council didn’t see it as an either-or situation – that both FOGO and community composting were needed.
“The proposed FOGO system has been designed specifically for our shire based on a proven, scalable solution for every household in the shire, while still allowing community composting initiatives to continue and grow alongside it,” he said.
“Delaying for one year will cost the council in rising contract costs and landfill fees.”
The council also maintains that a one-year delay will come with the environmental cost of not diverting the 900 tonnes of organic waste that the council estimates will be kept from landfill through the scheme.
Members of the newly formed Mount Alexander Organics Partnership, however, want a chance to expand YIMBY, home composting, support Greenaway to continue to process green waste and trial on-farm composting and kerbside chipping.
MAOP member, local orchardist, Katie Finley, said the group was worried that if the council went ahead with FOGO now, it could lock up the organic material needed to make the local farm composting trials work as they scaled up.
“We have to prove the concept first, but we’re feeling pretty confident this can be done in 12 months, which is all laid out in the MAOP report,” she said.
“It’s clear there’s strong support in the community to trial an alternative before rolling out the green bin.
“We have 1112 signatures from YIMBY’s recent petition asking to hold off on introducing a green bin. That’s a huge proportion of our community keen to support a local model.”
The council position is that it has carefully considered the issues raised in the petition, which has informed the proposed changes to the waste services.
“In particular, before the submission of the petition, community feedback received from YIMBY and other residents has influenced the proposal to include an opt-out provision for households that already compost at home or participate in recognised community composting programs,” Mr Duthie said.
“Most Victorian councils that have introduced FOGO do not offer an opt-out option, so this proposal has been specifically developed to reflect the council’s desire to accommodate local circumstances and recognise the strong composting culture that exists in Mount Alexander Shire.
“The council sees FOGO, home composting and community composting programs as complementary approaches that can work alongside each other to improve waste outcomes across the shire,” he said.
Members of MAOP and YIMBY have their fingers crossed, hoping that councillors at tonight’s meeting will vote against the immediate implementation of FOGO to allow time to trial their alternate model.
“We’ve got funding, we’ve done the modelling, we have community support, and we have briefed councillors on it,” Ms Beckley said.
“It’s just hard to understand why councillors wouldn’t give this model a try for a year.
“If it doesn’t prove to be viable, we will all be the first to support FOGO and bring the community with us.”