Organics //
FOGO in MUDs – how do I make it work? By Maya Deacock, James Cosgrove and Mike Ritchie AS our cities become bigger we are living more in units and flats (MUDs or multi-unit dwellings) rather than houses (SUDs or single unit dwellings). MRA is regularly asked to explain whether FOGO (Food Organic and Garden Organic waste collected in a dedicated green lidded bin, from households) works in MUDs. Although FOGO has multiple benefits and is being adopted around the country, councils with high MUD density are naturally cautious about FOGO and want to know if it is worth the effort in terms of benefits (dollars, greenhouse as emissions, compost value etc). FOGO is usually 55 per cent by weight of all waste produced by a household. Our planning team regularly advises councils and developers on the preferred mechanisms for FOGO, recyclables and garbage from MUDs. We also recently completed an international review of organics recovery in MUDs including Europe and North America. There is a real mix of methods for collecting FOGO (and recyclables) in Australian MUDs. Let’s look at each:
Chutes Developers are providing fewer chutes in MUDs today. They take up valuable real estate, are expensive to operate, and often gum up with waste. Residents like the convenience when they work, but maintenance can be a killer. Mostly developers are now opting for bin options but if they do provide a chute they generally only provide one chute (with an e-diverter to allow both recycling and waste to go down the same chute) or two chutes (one each for recycling and waste). Chutes for FOGO are rare. In our view, chutes are almost always unnecessary. Cardboard clogs them up, E-diverters break or are misused. The taller the building the more likely that the chute system will fail or clog up due to the many additional mechanisms with height. Broken chutes leave residents frustrated and often leads to improper disposal (dumping on the floor etc). Many state guidelines still require 36
INSIDEWASTE JUNE/JULY 2021
There are a multitude of methods to collect FOGO waste from MUDs.
chutes for buildings above seven storeys. But it takes no more time to go down in a lift from the 9th floor than the 7th, or 20th for that matter. Thankfully most state documents are guidelines only (and not statutory requirements). For many reasons, chutes and FOGO are not a good mix.
Bins in the basement This is the best option in terms of costs and contamination. Walking or taking the lift to the waste room is almost always preferable. It reduces the likelihood of dumping on each floor, it reduces contamination of streams and allows for more and different recycling options in the basement (e.g. FOGO, textiles, batteries, fluoro tubes etc). However, it requires the resident to bring the FOGO bag down to common FOGO bins in the basement or bin bay. In general, 1 x 240 litre FOGO bin per 3-4 units collected weekly adequately substitutes the weekly volume of food being taken out of the red bin. There are many MUDs providing successful FOGO services with good recovery rates and low
contamination, via this method. It is simple and provides the flexibility to accommodate changing services.
Bins on each floor A smaller number of MUDs provide a FOGO bin on each floor. Usually in a bin room. Of course that takes up more space on each floor but is very convenient for residents. Littering, contamination and improper disposal are also minimised. It does require an agreement with the cleaners or corporate body to remove the bins to the ground level for bin night. Bins placed on each floor can work for low-medium rise buildings but it becomes increasingly labour intensive for taller buildings. There are many MUDs providing successful FOGO services with good recovery rates and low contamination rates via this method.
Pneumatic Systems Pneumatic systems use vacuums to suck waste along a tube to a central waste hub, from which it is removed by a truck. These are very expensive
and are generally only cost effective across a CBD or a large greenfield development. You still need to drive a truck to the hub so doing it for a single building doesn’t add any value. To permit recycling you need colour-coded bags and optical sorting at the hub. MRA research did not find a single example of FOGO collection using pneumatic systems in Australia. There are pneumatic systems operating for FOGO (mainly FO) in Europe, but usually as part of a district wide scheme.
Suburban or street corner hubs Some European cities provide organics (and recyclable) collection via a bulk bin located centrally to a suburb or located on prominent street corners. This works well in terms of quality and contamination because only the most committed households use the system. On the other hand, recovery rates of organics are usually lower than a system operating in each MUD.
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