The NSW FOGO mandate is now law — is your business compliant?
As of 1 July 2026, the NSW food waste mandate is no longer a deadline on the horizon — it's in effect. If your business meets the threshold, you're required by law to separate food waste from general waste, starting now.
Under the Protection of the Environment Legislation Amendment (FOGO Recycling) Act 2025, large NSW supermarkets, hospitality venues and institutions must now provide a source-separated food organics collection service. This is phase one of three, rolling out to 2030, and targets the state's largest waste generators first.
Is your business affected right now?
The mandate applies based on how much general (non-recycling) waste your bins are rated to hold each week — not how much waste you actually produce. Three thresholds, three start dates:
| Compliance date | Weekly residual bin capacity | Rough equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2026 (now) | ≥ 3,840 L | 16 × 240 L bins, or 2 skip bins |
| 1 July 2028 | ≥ 1,920 L | 8 × 240 L bins, or 1 skip bin |
| 1 July 2030 | ≥ 660 L | 3 × 240 L bins |
Premises most likely caught in phase one: supermarkets and large grocery retailers, hotels and full-service restaurants, hospitals, aged care and correctional facilities, universities and large education campuses, and corporate cafeterias and catering operations.
What compliance actually requires
- Provide enough dedicated bins on-site to collect food organics waste.
- Ensure that waste is collected at least weekly.
- Keep food organics separate from general waste during transport — no mixing at any point in the chain.
Large supermarkets (1,000 m² gross floor area or more) have an additional obligation: monthly written records of food donated for human consumption, retained for at least six years.
What happens if you're not compliant
Non-compliance isn't a paperwork slap on the wrist. Penalties for breaching the mandate can reach $500,000, with the EPA empowered to take court action or issue on-the-spot fines. Beyond the legal exposure, businesses that delay are leaving money on the table — separated food waste collection is often cheaper than general waste once landfill levies are factored in, and government support (like the Bin Trim program, offering up to $50,000 toward on-site equipment) is designed to offset the transition cost.
Two ways to get compliant
1. Collection-based compliance — dedicated food organics bins, collected weekly by a waste contractor and processed at an approved facility. This is the simpler starting point for most businesses.
2. On-site processing — installing equipment that composts food waste on-site, eliminating the need for a separate collection stream. That's where a system like our EK-50 Commercial Composter comes in: it processes up to 50 kg of food waste per day in a fully automated 24-hour cycle, cutting collection costs while keeping you compliant.
Next steps
- Check your current weekly general waste bin capacity against the EPA threshold.
- Contact your existing waste provider about adding a food organics collection stream.
- If you're processing more than ~30–50 kg of food waste daily, get a cost comparison between ongoing collection fees and on-site composting.
- Brief kitchen and front-of-house staff on source separation — contamination is the most common reason FOGO systems fail in the first few months.
Not sure where your business stands under the mandate?
EcoKhaya runs free compliance assessments for NSW businesses and can model the cost difference between collection and on-site composting for your specific volume.