The NSW government has awarded more than $10 million to businesses, organisations and councils who are rescuing food waste across the state.

Charities, such as Plate It Forward, Albury Wodonga FoodShare, and Secondbite, are also set to benefit from this new funding.

With landfill in Greater Sydney running out by 2030, the NSW government says it’s never been more important to address unnecessary waste like food and garden scraps, which make up almost half of what goes in the average household red-lid bin.

“Separating food scraps into the green bin and recycling them through FOGO [food organics and garden organics] programs is one of the easiest ways that businesses and the community can help us fight the waste crisis,” it says.  

NSW will become the first state in Australia to mandate the statewide recycling of food waste this year. From 1 July, targeted NSW businesses and institutions, such as supermarkets, universities and prisons, will face new requirements to recycle their food waste. Councils must also provide weekly FOGO collections to households from July 2030.

The latest $10 million in funding includes:

• Go FOGO. $4.71 million for six projects helping councils expand or introduce weekly FOGO services to 118,000 households, including bins and kitchen caddies, education campaigns, and audits.
• Business Food Waste Partnership. $3.14 million for 18 projects supporting sector leaders to educate around 4200 businesses and 2000 staff on how to correctly separate food waste.
• Food rescue. $2.25 million for 27 projects equipping food rescue and relief charities with infrastructure such as refrigerated trucks, vans and cool rooms to deliver food.

A further $21.6 million is on the table for councils to roll out or expand FOGO services under the next round of the Go FOGO program.

NSW Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Penny Sharpe says when we bury our food waste in landfill, it takes up space, produces methane and drives up emissions.

“Rolling out FOGO is one of the fastest and most practical steps we can take to cut pollution, turn waste into valuable compost, and support a circular economy,” she says.  

“There’s a simple solution to food waste – turn food scraps into valuable compost and keeping good food out of landfill and on tables.

“When people are experiencing cost of living pressures, it feels like an obvious choice to fund charities that repurpose food waste into meals for those in need.”