Practical perspectives from 25 years at the sharp end of Australia's recycled organics industry. No fluff — just what actually matters in the field.
FOGO is counted the moment the bin is emptied. Nobody counts where the product ends up. The latest national figures put more than half of recycled organics sales into urban amenity. A proposal for one more measure alongside diversion: tonnes returned to productive land.
Read article →Queensland has retired its numeric PFAS limits for compost, but the risk hasn't gone away. Councils control the three decisions that matter most: what goes in the bin, what the processing contract requires, and where the product goes. Includes a free 10-question self-check.
Read article →Outsourcing organics processing doesn't remove a council's risk. It prices it in, and leaves councils exposed if their processor disappears. Part 1 of 2: the real cost of outsourcing, and why every council should hold a standby composting approval of its own.
Read article →Composting doesn't create PFAS contamination — it concentrates whatever arrives in the feedstock. What Australia's forever-chemical exposure actually looks like, how Queensland's compost testing regime compares to untested everyday products, and what operators need to manage.
Read article →Most contamination programs stop at telling people what goes in the bin. They have no answer for what happens next. What airport foreign-object-debris culture teaches about catching contamination at every stage — and why it's a commercial risk, not just a compliance exercise.
Read article →Regional councils across Australia are spending money on organic waste management they don't need to spend — because the sequence is wrong. Why the RFT is near the end of the process, not the beginning.
Read article →Regional councils face a structural squeeze: FOGO mandates are outpacing the infrastructure to process it. Why the sequence of decisions matters more than the technology you choose.
Read article →Soft plastics are the single biggest reason Australian compost can't be sold at a premium — and the problem starts at the kerb. Why the confetti effect is practically irreversible, and what good facilities do differently.
Read article →The trucking strategy looks efficient on a spreadsheet. But it ignores four critical market tensions — diesel exposure, carbon complexity, revenue leakage, and the hollowing out of regional economies.
Read article →Odour is fast becoming the defining constraint on composting expansion in Australia — but it doesn't have to be. Understanding why odour is a symptom of process failure, not an inevitability.
Read article →Every situation is different. Tell us about yours and we'll come back to you within 48 hours with an honest assessment of whether and how we can help.