Waste not, want not: FOGO fires up across our sites
Date published: 01 Jul 2026 Author: Ashleigh Prince
From today, a simple change in how we manage food waste will make a big difference to our environmental footprint.
Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) has now been rolled out across 39 HealthShare NSW sites, introducing a new way to separate and recycle food waste as part of our commitment to sustainability.
Uneaten food from patient meals and scraps from kitchen preparation will now be diverted from general waste and collected separately. Instead of going to landfill, this organic waste will be reprocessed into valuable resources, including compost for agriculture and materials that can generate renewable energy.
It’s estimated that these initial sites will divert around 2,700 tonnes of organic waste from landfill each year – that’s roughly the weight of 270 fully loaded garbage trucks – with this impact to grow as FOGO expands to more sites.
Why it matters
Food waste has a bigger impact than many of us realise, but small changes can add up to meaningful results.
- Each year, NSW food businesses send 500,000 tonnes of food waste to landfill - that’s roughly the weight of 50,000 garbage trucks.
- In NSW, more than a third of the waste generated by households sent to landfill is food.
- Every tonne of organic waste diverted from landfill saves 1.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted.
- Food and garden waste can be turned into compost for parks, sporting fields and agriculture.
Staff embracing the change
At Ballina Hospital, Food and Patient Support Services Manager Muin Hossain says the transition has been a positive one.
‘Our staff are ready for a new challenge and have been very supportive of introducing food waste recycling that will divert up to 12 kilograms of food waste each day from patient meals,’ he said.
Supporting a more sustainable health system
The FOGO rollout is one of the many ways HealthShare NSW is supporting the broader NSW Health vision of becoming a modern, low carbon, low waste and climate-resilient health system.
By reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill, FOGO helps lower greenhouse gas emissions and supports the commitments set out in the NSW Health Net Zero Roadmap 2024–2030 to meet NSW Government emissions reduction targets.
What’s next
Following the successful rollout to 39 sites, FOGO will continue to expand across HealthShare NSW food services, helping to build a more sustainable and resilient future for healthcare in NSW.
This achievement would not have been possible without the collaboration and support of the broader NSW Health network. We extend our sincere thanks to the Procurement and Sustainability teams across the state, and the HealthShare NSW Operations team for their partnership and dedication in making this rollout a success.
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