18/06/2026
Making our mark at Waste 2026! 🌿
Mark Darwin, our General Manager Infrastructure, was proud to represent JR Richards & Sons on the "FOGO: Here, Now and What's Next" panel discussion at Coffs Harbour at the Waste 2026 conference held 12-14 May.
Facilitated by Stuart MacLachlan (Marsden Jacob Associates), the session explored policy intent, current progress, best practice, infrastructure pressures and what the sector needs to focus on next.
Key insights from Mark:
♻️ FOGO as a full supply chain — The green bin is just the starting point. Success means clean kerbside separation, reliable collection, transfer, processing and trusted end markets.
⚠️ Contamination management — Poor material at the kerbside creates downstream costs and reduces compost quality.
🤖 Technology & AI — Camera systems can support drivers, provide objective evidence, and help councils act on contamination data through education and follow-up.
🏗️ Infrastructure timelines — Policy moves quickly, but approvals, equipment procurement and commissioning take time.
🌱 End market confidence — The goal is clean tonnes and a trusted compost product farmers and landscapers can rely on.
Huge thanks to the conference committee for the photos and to Amanda Kane (NSW EPA), Daniel Nicholson (Topsoil Organics), Marco Ricci (Altereko) and Nicole Greenwood (Blacktown City Council) for a fantastic discussion.
At JRR, we understand the practical challenges councils face with FOGO and organics processing, and we're here to deliver solutions across collections, infrastructure, processing, contamination management and end markets.
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