Busting FOGO myths Jess Braun 7 Nov 2018

Presentation agenda Organic waste to landfill Options for recovery Perceived barriers to implementing FOGO Bust myths FOGO success

Household waste to landfill Paint the picture of municipal waste in NZ Organic waste is the single largest component of municipal kerbside solid waste sent to landfill – 50% - 306,000 tpa Most of kerbside residual waste ends up in landfills in New Zealand. Source: 2009 Household waste to landfill report for Ministry for the Environment, by Waste Not Consultants Strategy adopted by New Zealand’s government is to reduce, recycle and reuse waste (New Zealand Waste Strategy, 2012). Waste Minimization Act of 2008 also encourages the reduction of waste generated and disposed of in the country. The argument for keeping organics out of landfill is assumed knowledge for the audience at this conference. Source: New Zealand Ministry for the Environment 2009

Collection options to recover organics GO–Recycling–Residual FOGO–Recycling–Residual Recycling–Residual

32% 50% Fortnightly Weekly 18% Ready, set, FOGO Solution

FOGO benefits Recover 306,000 tpa organics Save $46 mil pa processing costs Double the compost sector 306,000 tpa CO2–e abatement Savings based on 307,000 tpa organics (MfE 2009 report), $150/t savings on gatefees for organics processing compared to landfilling So, why do we not see more FOGO uptake?

Local Gov FOGO Implementation

Leading the way

Council perceived barriers to FOGO High contamination Poor performance with MUDs Poor community satisfaction Economically irrational No FOGO processors No market for outputs Existing micro solutions We surveyed 12 councils in NZ about the barriers and concerns regarding the introduction of an organics waste collection. The following perceived concerns were common themes in discussions – organics collection would be too expensive, there is not enough processing capacity, no market for the outputs of composting, residents are already undertaking their own composting or worm farming, poor performance from multi-unit buildings with respect to contamination and engagement, poor community satisfaction with the changed service, high contamination. Other underlying issues that also need to be addressed include current staffing and contractual arrangements. Contractual arrangements/interests maintain status quo, Too hard? Staff and capacity constraints?. Estimated 34% of households have Food Waste Disposers which diverts food organics to the sewerage system to be processes at a waste water treatment facility (Source: 2004 research for Parex Industries – distributor for InSinkErator) Go through myths 1 by 1 and pick them apart. Then provide some practical information to support a successful FOGO rollout.

Community satisfaction Christchurch City Council 85% satisfied with FOGO service Auckland-Papakura 70% supported FOGO service Timaru District Council 87% supported FOGO trial 91% supported FOGO service North Shore City 70% participation in FOGO trial Community satisfaction Sources: Ministry of Environment, 2005, Options for Kerbside Collection of Household Organic Wastes. http://ourauckland.aucklandcouncil.govt.nz/ Christchurch City Council, 2014, Organic Material Collection and Composting-Activity Management Plan. Timaru District Council, 2014 ,CHANGE FOR THE BETTER, TIMARU KERBSIDE ORGANIC COLLECTION & COMPOSTING, 7 YEARS ON, 2006-2013: KEY LEARNING’S. Sources: Ministry for the Environment, 2005 Christchurch City Council, 2014 Timaru District Council, 2014

Multi-unit developments Problems High turnover Low care Poor engagement leading to contamination Poor bin storage and presentation Solutions Communication, residents survey 1 FO bin : 10 residual bins Kitchen caddies & liners Accessible, identifiable, conveniently located FO bins Vehicle access Adequate bin volume Bin cleaning Engage body corporates Multi-unit development in Auckland means a development consisting of 10 or more residential or residential and commercial units on any premises. It includes a unit title development and any development with controlled or restricted access. Currently there are 1700 MUDs throughout Auckland region. https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/91357829/Thousands-of-illegal-wheelie-bins-pulled-from-streets-by-Christchurch-City-Council The picture is for Christchurch. Problems are from MRA research and case studies Options include approaches that deal specifically with engagement, convenience and contamination prevention. The south Korean option is a bin with an RFID lock that only opens with a tag and it records weight of each food waste deposit - user pays system

Work with strata and estate agents – resource new tenants, waste infrastructure, good access to waste infrastructure Communication critical – simple, visual. Use schools, community groups, face-to-face, positive messages, consistent and on-going education Couldn’t find a photo that neatly showed a good bin area WITH FOGO bins…

Single-unit dwellings Even if MUDS are more challenging it doesn’t prevent FOGO roll out to other residents

Contamination reality Timaru 1% Christchurch 1.2% Contamination fear Contamination reality <5% contamination is low. The best performance of FOGO in Australia is 0.5% contamination at Albury. Update shapes without corners

Economics Average LF: 196.25 Average compost: 67

NZ wide FOGO = $46mil pa savings

98 commercial composting facilities accepting FOGO Processing capacity 98 commercial composting facilities accepting FOGO Source: Ecoware 2015 industry report Sources: Ecoware 2015

Market for FOGO compost Agricultural land: 12 mil ha NZ wide FOGO compost: 20,000 ha Compost improves: Soil compaction Soil erosion Nutrient depletion Source: Renshaw, 2015 Make map showing red square of compost if all compost from FOGO was spread at 10 tonnes per ha. 2/3 efficiency of compost production from FOGO tonnes. - 306,000 tpa of food and garden waste in residual bin at the moment. Compost tonnes (2/3 *306,000) = 202,000 tpa Composted area (10t/ha) = 20,000 ha (200km2) General understanding that increase in organic matter in soils is beneficial Land-use data from Ministry for the Environment Land Use Map 2012 – cropland and high producing grassland, planted forest The green area is the market for FOGO compost (agricultural land), the red square is the size of the area if all of NZ’s FOGO was composted and applied to land. Source: Ministry for the Environment 2012

FOGO success Analyse options,build business case Ongoing communication & education Monitoring & engagement Plans & strategies Analyse options,build business case 35 councils in NSW have shown that it can work and pay rewards. Based on this model and developments of our own MRA has assisted many councils to plan, implement and monitor FOGO rollout How to make it work – successful implementation based on MRA experience Develop and maintain plans and strategies leading to communication and education schemes. Continual monitoring leading back into amended strategies as required.

Develop business case Cost options Cost the options using robust analysis, e.g. multi-criteria analysis Make a decision based on findings of analysis Developing the business case takes into account all the costs in a multi criteria analysis across a range of scenarios and configurations. Its is both detailed and high level considering the costs of caddies and liners to the potential GHG abatement advantages. It provides a transparent decision making platform Redo options figure

Strategic implementation Two step dance The implementation needs planning and needs to start at least 2 years out, what when and how. Conduct a trial to promote the outcomes and iron out the logistics. Develop the right contracts with the waste service providers and contractors. Two stage process Introduced a 3-bin Garden only service for the first 3 years before introducing the Food Drop to residual fortnightly only when FOGO is well-established Future proof waste service by building flexibility into the waste contract that allows same processing volume but different composition.

Communication Before – during – after The essential component is communication – before during and after. Particularly before – you have to take the community with you, explain the benefits, the why, the cost savings, the environmental benefits Campaign to raise awareness, communicate rollout 1-2 years in advance. Build up the intensity 3 months before – youtube videos on benefits and correct use. Create a FOGO Friendly Force that talks at community events. Roll out caddies and bins in advance to get people in the habit. Have a launch day. Communication experiment in NSW – recent overnight ban of compost from organics separated from residual waste through AWT facilities. To avoid organic outputs going to landfill, councils will need to rollout FOGO immediately. Record FOGO rollout processes, successes, contamination rates.

Community engagement Community Advisory Group School education programs Branding & key messages FOGO Friendly Force Communication – brochures, stickers Incentives Surveys & audits Media Public support is vital to the success of any food waste collection scheme. How householders view their local service has a major impact on participation. There are well developed community engagement approaches that have generated high levels of participation, focused on education, engagement and friendly support services, Halve Waste for example has achieved 95% participation. Most successful engagement comes through participatory planning and decision making where groups are fully consulted at all stages and on all questions.

Case study - Timaru District Council Education & communication Monitoring Options analysis Community consult Preferred option Tender Trial Positive case study. Timaru District Council, 2014 ,CHANGE FOR THE BETTER, TIMARU KERBSIDE ORGANIC COLLECTION & COMPOSTING, 7 YEARS ON, 2006-2013: KEY LEARNING’S. 15 year contract 2006 – 2021 Bins – FOGO weekly, Recyclables and red fortnightly Consideration of options started 1999 Community info program – media, door drops, giving talks, employed comms staff Community consultation on size and type of containers – 240L, 120L or 45L crate Trial in Dec 2004- Jan 2005 – weekly FOGO, alternating fortnightly red and yellow, info sheet. Conducted a survey – 87% supported 3-bin service, 64 % had no problems, 36% indicated common problems (separating waste in kitchen, some uneducated residents in the house, accepted items, mixed up collection days) Full service rolled out 2006 with supporting education program to address issues identified from the survey, and different sized bins for different needs (such as smaller bins for the elderly) 18,989 households with FOGO containers (as at Sept 2013) 14,000 tpa fogo processed – council gets a % of revenue from compost sales Gatesfees: $100/t composting, $193/t LF On-going monitoring – full kerbside audit 2007 and 2008, visual audit 2009, on-going driver observations and 3 strike approach to contamination On-going education – Zero Waste Advisor runs compost facility tours, talks at schools/community groups, visiting businesses, regularly updated brochures ---- promote engagement and low contamination 2011/12 survey indicated 91% satisfaction with kerbside collection service

Commercial Strategy Planning Auditing Education Modelling Engineering Due diligence