Growing the Recovery of Organic Waste via Food Organic and Garden Organics (GROW FOGO) Fund

Organic waste makes up around half of what Queenslanders throw away each week in their kerbside waste (red lid) bin. Diverting organic material from landfill presents many environmental and economic benefits, such as reducing waste to landfill and creating new products like compost.

The Growing the Recovery of Organic Waste via Food Organic Garden Organic (GROW FOGO) Fund provides support to assist Queensland councils to implement or expand household organic waste collection services and practices that divert garden organics (GO) and/or food organics (FO) from landfill.

Funding for bin harmonisation supports councils to achieve statewide consistency in general waste collection services, resulting in cleaner waste streams and improved resource recovery.

Program guidelines were updated in June 2026 to include the following changes:

• Program eligibility was expanded so that all Queensland councils are now eligible for all funding streams;
• Stream 2 funding was previously available to supply kitchen food waste caddies to households that were receiving a kerbside FOGO bin. This funding stream was expanded to include more at-home food organics diversion options such as compost bins, worm farms and food dehydrators; and
• Administrative changes including updates to retrospective and surplus funding, clearer definitions of eligible and ineligible costs, and clearer instructions on the information required for a funding application.

On 27 July 2026 the Queensland government announced a $55 million allocation to the Kerbside Bin Acceleration Fund, which will continue to expand on the GROW FOGO Fund through additional support to councils to expand household recycling and organics services. This will lead to the diversion of more waste from landfill and increase recycling.

More information about GROW FOGO, including eligibility and the application process is available in the Program guidelines (PDF, 3 MB).

Funding streams

Funding Stream	South East Queensland Councils	Queensland Regional Councils
Stream 1 - Kerbside organics bins	$65 / household	$75 / household
Stream 2 - At-home organics diversion equipment	up to $15 / household	up to $15 / household
Stream 3 - Bin harmonisation (general waste bins)	$20 / household	$25 / household
Stream 4 - Education and awareness (related to stream 1 or 2)	$10 / household	$10 / household

How to apply

South East Queensland Councils

South East Queensland (SEQ) Councils may work with the Council of Mayors South East Queensland (CoMSEQ) Waste Portfolio Management Office (PMO) to collate the required information as detailed in the Program guidelines. Councils may contact the department at any time for assistance with the application process and can submit an application through the SmartyGrants portal*.

Regional (non-SEQ) Councils

Queensland Councils, other than SEQ Councils, may work with their Regional Coordinator to collate the required information as detailed in the Program guidelines. Councils may contact the department at any time for assistance with the application process and can submit the required information through the SmartyGrants portal*.

*The application forms are specific to council location due to the different funding amounts available. Please ensure that you are completing the correct application form.

Approved GROW FOGO SEQ projects

Recipient	Funding received for	Funding allocated
City of Moreton Bay	New kerbside organics bins Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids) Education and awareness activities	$11,741,944
City of Ipswich	New kerbside organics bins Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids) Education and awareness activities	$5,900,000
Brisbane City Council	New kerbside organics bins Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids) Education and awareness activities	$12,194,775
Brisbane City Council	Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids)	$400,000
Sunshine Coast Regional Council	Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids)	$1,901,804
Logan City Council	Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids)	$881,500

Approved GROW FOGO regional projects

Recipient	Funding received for	Funding allocated
Mareeba Shire Council	Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids)	$208,150
Cairns Regional Council	Bin harmonisation (replacing older dark green lids with red lids)	$1,062,975
Gladstone Regional Council	New kerbside organics bins Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids) Education and awareness activities	$1,592,395
Douglas Regional Council	Bin harmonisation (replace older dark green lids with red lids)	$105,950

Completed projects

Recipient	Funding received for	Funding allocated
Bundaberg Regional Council (Demonstration project)	The establishment of a trial project for kerbside food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection service in 2 suburbs over a 12-month period. The project included: Delivery of FOGO bins and kitchen caddies to 1,500 households; Bin harmonisation; Communication and engagement activities to educate householders on the appropriate use of the new bins; Weekly collection of FOGO materials; Surveys of participating households; and Waste compositional audits.	$205,000
Rockhampton Regional Council	Bin harmonisation for 10,226 households.	$274,824
Brisbane City Council	Funding enabled: The delivery of new kerbside organic bins to 35,412 households under an opt-in scheme; Communication and engagement activities to raise awareness and educate householders on the appropriate use of the new kerbside organics bins; and Bin harmonisation for 77,000 households.	$4,195,900
Gold Coast City Council	New kerbside organics bins Education and awareness activities	$5,555,630

Further information

For further information about the program, please contact the Office of Waste Reduction and Recycling Programs team via email at OWRRPrograms@detsi.qld.gov.au