Residents Opt Out of New FOGO Service in Mamaku and Ōkāreka

Mamaku and Ōkāreka will not be included in a new food organic and green organic waste (FOGO) collection service following consultation with residents.

Council approved the introduction of a food organic and green organic waste collection service in July 2024 with a start date of 1 July 2026.

However, at an Infrastructure and Environment Committee meeting in July, it was suggested the Mamaku and Ōkāreka areas might not wish to be included as residents had alternative methods of processing organic food and green waste such as composting.

The committee delegated Rotorua Lakes Council Chief Executive Andrew Moraes to finalise the coverage areas for the new service.

Council then sought to confirm the views of residents in Mamaku and Ōkāreka by asking if they wanted:

a weekly food and green waste collection and a fortnightly household rubbish collection; or

to retain the status quo of a weekly household rubbish collection with no organic food and green waste collection.

The consultation involved 587 survey letters being sent, an online survey, a weblink and QR code being sent to all property owners with email addresses (80% of properties).

Council received 342 responses, a return rate of 57%.

Of those:

15% selected Option 1 (weekly FOGO collection & fortnightly rubbish collection)

85% selected Option 2 (status quo: weekly rubbish collection, no FOGO collection)

Option	Ōkāreka	%	Mamaku	%
Weekly FOGO collection and fortnightly rubbish collection	46	31%	7	4%
Status quo (weekly rubbish collection, no FOGO collection)	103	69%	184	96%
Total Responses Received	149		191
Response Rate	55%		57%

N.B. 2 responses were received from outside the Mamaku and Ōkāreka communities

Consultation showed there was significant support in both communities for retaining the status quo.

Based on this feedback, Mamaku and Ōkāreka will not be included in the collection coverage area for the FOGO contract and will instead retain a weekly rubbish collection.