Bourke seeks exemption from costly organic waste charge — with all far west councils to follow suit

Due to skyrocketing costs, FOGO is a no go in Bourke. Photo: Ian Cole

Story: Kristin Murdock – kmurdock@outbackradio.com.au

Bourke households could face a doubling of their annual waste charge under the NSW government’s mandatory food and garden organics scheme, prompting Bourke Shire Council to seek an exemption from the statewide rollout.

A report went before Council on Monday which estimates introducing a Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) collection service could add about $300 a year to the waste charge for each services property.

That would take Bourke’s current residential Domestic Waste Management Charge from $350 to around $650 a year.

Council’s Manager Environmental Services Dwayne Willoughby said the figures highlighted the difficulty of applying a statewide waste model to small and isolated western communities.

“The report reflects the concerns in implementing a FOGO collection service in Bourke as raised by Council staff in discussion with officers from the NSW EPA,” Mr Willoughby said.

“These concerns are the substantial financial impact that a FOGO service would impose on serviced households which stem from Council’s geographic isolation, its small and dispersed service population, limited collection and processing capacity, and workforce constraints.”

Under laws passed in 2025, councils will be required to provide households already receiving a red-lid waste collection with a FOGO service by July 1, 2030.

The policy is designed to divert food and organic material from landfill and forms part of the NSW government’s target of halving organic waste sent to landfill by 2030.

However, a report commissioned by the Alliance of Western Councils argues the economics are vastly different for many western NSW communities. […]

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