SOUTHERN Grampians Shire Council (SGSC) has increased its Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) kerbside collection to once-a-week during Spring.

 SGSC Infrastructure and Sustainability acting director, Juan Donis said a combination of wet weather and sunny days meant weeds, gardens and lawns would grow faster.

 “Council first began to introduce the FOGO kerbside collection service in 2018 to save food and garden waste from landfill,” he said.

“Since then, we have diverted approximately 7500 tonnes of this matter from landfill and transported it to Camperdown where it is composted and used as a fertiliser and soil improver on local farms.”

 Mr Donis said over 6400 households across the shire were actively using the FOGO service.

 “The FOGO program is part of Council’s sustainability solutions to combat waste in our region,” he said.

“We are pleased to increase the service during Spring to support households that need to offload extra organic and garden materials and want to keep their properties neat and tidy.”

 Mr Donis reminded households that FOGO bins were for small garden cuttings and grass clippings, as well as hard-to-compost food items like bones, eggshells, tea bags and tea leaves, seafood shells and coffee grounds as well as pet fur and pet droppings.

 For a full list of FOGO-friendly items and for property kerbside collection dates, visit sthgrampians.vic.gov.au/FOGO

 Collection services for general waste and recycling will remain as per their usual collection cycle and will not be impacted by the extra FOGO collection.

 Residents can find helpful tips on how to save money, time and the planet by making the most of leftovers by visiting sustainability.vic.gov.au