Lockyer Valley household FOGO diversion

The Lockyer Valley household FOGO diversion project is a waste diversion initiative located at the Gatton Landfill and Resource Recovery Centre, approximately 5km west of Gatton in South East Queensland. Registered in October 2023, the project was established by the Lockyer Valley Regional Council to manage emissions from organic waste. The project operates under the Carbon Credits (Carbon Farming Initiative, Source Separated Organic Waste) Methodology Determination 2016.

This project focuses on the diversion of Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) from the general waste stream. Under this methodology, eligible organic waste is separated at the household level (the "source") using specific green-lid bins, preventing it from entering landfill where it would anaerobically decompose and generate methane. Instead, the collected material is transferred to a treatment facility, in this case, a dedicated composting unit at the Gatton landfill site, where it is processed into soil conditioner using forced aeration composting technology.

The Lockyer Valley region, often referred to as "Australia's Salad Bowl," is renowned for its intensive horticulture and agriculture. The landscape is characterized by rich, fertile black alluvial soils and a sub-tropical climate that supports substantial vegetable production. While the region generally enjoys moderate rainfall, it is prone to climatic extremes including floods and droughts. The compost produced by such diversion projects is particularly valuable in this agricultural context for returning nutrients to the soil.

Notably, this project functioned largely as a trial involving approximately 1,000 households in the townships of Gatton and Laidley. It was the first in Queensland to utilize static pile forced aeration composting on a council site. However, public reports from mid-2025 indicate the Council decided to conclude the FOGO trial due to high contamination rates in the bins and rising operational costs, returning to standard waste collection while investigating other options.