The Territory’s FOGO facility may process up to 50,000 tonnes of organic waste each year. Photo: GoTerra.
The Territory’s eventual Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) facility could end up also processing animal carcasses and compostable packaging, according to its expressions of interest document.
The EOI tender has been released to find a contractor to deliver the long-promised facility, which was meant to be up and running in 2023. It had to be pushed back to prioritise a new regional recycling centre due to the old one being destroyed in the 2022 Boxing Day fire.
The EOI indicates the new FOGO facility isn’t expected to be operational until at least 2028.
“The Territory anticipates that the contractor will design, construct and commission the facility within approximately 24 months of contract award and will perform the operation and maintenance services for the Territory for a 20-year operating term,” it stated.
“If successful, the respondent will be shortlisted by the Territory to proceed to the Request for Proposal (RFP) Stage.”
The anticipated RFP release is slated for early 2026.
The facility could also end up processing animal carcasses and compostable packaging.
The government is seeking feedback from applicants to understand whether “incorporating animal carcass management” into the facility’s operations would be suitable.
“The respondent is invited to provide non-evaluated commentary on the suitability and capacity of the facility as described in the draft EIS design and propose suggested changes the facility to accept and process the animal carcasses,” it stated.
The draft EIS was released in 2024 and is currently under review.
A large volume of animal carcasses being managed by the Territory – including those from vehicle collisions and biosecurity events – are currently disposed of in the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre’s landfill.
The FOGO facility would be located off John Cory Road near the recycling facility in Hume. Photo: ACT Government.
The suitability of compostable kitchen caddy liners and their potential contamination risks is also being considered.
“Compostable kitchen caddy liners allow for the convenient transfer of FOGO material from households into FOGO bins and assist in hygiene and odour control,” the EOI noted.
“The use of compostable kitchen caddy liners may also assist in increasing the uptake of a FOGO service by improving households’ user experience.”
The Territory wants to hear from the market about the suitability of potentially including compostable packaging as part of the FOGO processing facility’s waste collection model.
These could include bamboo cutlery, wooden cutlery (skewers, toothpicks, ice cream sticks, etc), compostable straws made from wheat, seagrass, pasta, rice paper, etc, paper plates, bowls and trays, compostable produce/barrier bags, coffee filter paper, paper napkins, bioplastic drinking cups and lids, coffee cups, cardboard plates, bowls and trays, compostable sanitation items (wet wipes, nappies, pads, etc).
About 26,000 tonnes of the ACT’s household food waste goes into landfill each year. It’s expected the FOGO facility will be able to process up to 50,000 tonnes of organic waste annually, with the potential to increase processing volume up to 70,000 tonnes per year.
“Diverting FOGO from landfill will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and turn organic waste into valuable compost to improve soil health across the region,” the EOI document stated.
“The Territory is working to minimise organic waste going to landfill and recover organic waste resources. It has set a target of increasing the rate of resource recovery to over 90 per cent by 2025, with no recoverable waste sent to landfill.”
The facility’s operator will be required to prioritise FOGO waste from the Territory but can choose to accept such waste from other sources “provided that it maintains capacity to process all the Territory’s delivered material”.
The Territory had received $13 million in Commonwealth funding for the facility and intends to match this contribution.
The ACT Government recently awarded the contract for the new $26 million regional recycling facility at Hume to waste management giant Veolia.
EOI submissions close on 12 August at 2 pm.
