Turning food and garden organics into compost

Work is commencing on a new $7 million organic processing facility on the Tweed which will turn green organic waste into useful compost, while reducing the amount of waste which goes to landfill.

The facility, to be constructed and operated by NSW organics recycling business Soilco Pty Ltd at Council's Stotts Creek Resource Recovery Centre, represents a significant investment in waste reduction and management and will be the largest organic processing plant on the Northern Rivers.

Capable of dealing with nearly 21,000 tonnes of food and garden organics (FOGO) annually, the facility will complement Council's green kerbside collection program.

The Tweed's organics recycling facility will function as an enclosed composting facility using state-of-the-art technology.

It will be environmentally sustainable, with features such as a 99KW solar power system, which is expected to offset 22 per cent of the facility's power consumption. Rainwater will be captured for processing operations and all wastewater generated in the processing of organics will be reused in the composting process.

Soilco General Manager Charlie Emery said collected FOGO was currently transferred to a facility outside the Tweed Shire.

“Since Council's FOGO collections began, the reduction in organic waste to landfill shows that residents are actively embracing the process,” Mr Emery said.

“We are also looking to work with local businesses and food producers, such as hotels and resorts in the area, to help them better manage their green waste.

“Once the facility is up and running, Council will be able to process its own food and green waste, right next to the existing recycling and landfill centre.”

The facility, due to be operational by September 2021, will be run by Soilco for 10 years with an additional five-year option for Council to extend.

The project is supported by the NSW Environmental Trust as part of the NSW EPA's Waste Less, Recycle More initiative, funded from the waste levy, which provides funding support to councils and other organisations to build facilities to increase the amount of organic waste diverted from landfill in NSW.

The reintroduction of the green organics bin in the Tweed has reduced household waste to landfill by approximately 20 per cent. To find out goes in your green bin, visit

On site at the Stotts Creek Organics Processing Facility are Soilco’s Shane Morgan, Council’s Resource Recovery Education Officer Tarra Martel, Director Sustainable Communities and Environment Tracey Stinson, Resource Recovery Acting Unit Coordinator Wesley Knight, Project Manager Wayne Harris, Soilco General Manager Charlie Emery and Soilco employee Lance Jeffrey.