$40.7 million in new projects to recycle food and garden waste

Minister for the Environment Sussan Ley said the eight organic processing facilities are being supported through the Morrison Government’s Food Waste for Healthy Soils Fund which will divert up to 3.4 million tonnes of food and organic waste from landfill across Australia.

“That alone will deliver greenhouse gas savings that are equivalent to taking nearly half a million cars off the road,’ Minister Ley said.

“NSW is the first state to come on board and this $10 million of co-investment will generate an additional $30.7 million of industry investment in new and upgraded facilities, many in regional NSW. These will turn so called ‘waste’ into a reliable source of safe, high-quality recycled organic compost products for farmers. We’ve all heard of ‘paddock to plate’, this is ‘plate to paddock’.

“By coinvesting with states and territories we are able to deliver important new infrastructure and we hopefully move closer to a time when every household has access to its own FOGO (food organic and garden organic) bin.”

NSW Deputy Premier and Minister for Regional NSW Paul Toole said NSW is serious about delivering jobs and investment in the regions, with six of the eight new projects rolling out to regional areas.

“This record investment will be a welcome boost to local economies right across the state, creating an estimated 72 jobs from Carrathool to Wyong,” Mr Toole said.

“This includes Bettergrow, an $8.7 million composting facility on a former sheep station at Twelve Mile in the State’s Central West, which will process 75,000 additional tonnes of organic waste every year, supporting 17 construction jobs and 17 ongoing positions.”

NSW Minister for the Environment James Griffin said the joint investment is supporting the NSW Government’s commitment to halve the amount of organic waste sent to landfill and reach net zero emissions from organic waste in landfill by 2030.

“We know that in NSW, more than a third of the waste we send to landfill is food, and that creates emissions as it decomposes,” Mr Griffin said.

“That’s why we’re co-investing almost $5 million in technologies that help us divert food and organics waste from landfill to turn into valuable resources.

“This is yet another example of how NSW is turning our trash into treasure. These grants are the latest in a $105.5 million investment under Waste Less Recycle More initiative which has transformed organics recovery in NSW for the past nine years.”

Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management Trevor Evans said that the Fund will play a substantial role in achieving Australia’s goal to recover 80% of our organic waste materials by 2030 as set out in the National Waste Policy Action Plan.

“If we can reach the 80% target we will generate $401 million in value-add to the Australian economy, support up to 2,700 additional jobs in the organics recycling industry and avoid over 2 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions,” Assistant Minister Evans said.

“Australia currently recycles around 8.6 million tonnes of organic waste every year, and the additional organic processing capacity expected to be delivered under the Fund will take us to our target of processing 12 million tonnes and meeting the 80% target.”

More information on the fund is available at https://www.awe.gov.au/environment/protection/waste/food-waste/food-waste-for-healthy-soils-fund.