Dealing with the wicked problem of global food waste and loss is a complex and challenging area. In Australia, increased political will has landed the diversion of domestic food waste from landfill squarely at the feet of local government (councils), often requiring significant change to kerbside collections systems. This paper discusses how post-kerbside household food waste treatment systems can encourage pro-environmental behaviours. To achieve this, current food waste literature is examined against kerbside domestic waste collection measurable outcomes (diversion rates, system uptake and contamination rates). The hypothesis is that specific interventions can establish, or rebuild, community trust, responsibility and pro-environmental behaviours around food waste avoidance and diversion. Two post-kerbside systems—commercial composting and anaerobic digestion—provided the framework. Two themes emerged from the study: (1) the benefits of connecting the community with the interactions of household food waste inputs with post-treatment outputs (compost, soil conditioners, digestates and biogases); and (2) providing engaged communities with pathways for sustainable, pro-environmental actions whilst normalizing correct kerbside food waste recycling for the less engaged (habitual behaviours, knowledge and cooperation). The paper contributes to understanding how councils can connect their communities with the issues of household food waste.

Landfilling of household food waste contributes to global emissions yet remains prevalent worldwide. Achieving net-zero emissions targets necessitates the diversion of organic waste from landfills, placing considerable pressure on local authorities to provide waste diversion services. However, even where policies, funding, and capacity to implement food waste diversion appears to exist, service inconsistencies abound. Many countries have local authority staff responsible for providing waste services and they are key contributors to determining how domestic waste is managed. Using Australia's diverse geographic and demographic situation as an example, this study examines the decision-making processes and influence of local waste management staff through a national survey (n = 183) and online interviews (n = 45). A novel thematic network analysis approach revealed complex patterns of polarisation surrounding household food waste implementations. Key findings highlighted the interplay between staff attitudes, decision-making, and intervention strategies, emphasising systemic support as critical for transformative change. Three overarching concerns emerged: (1) the need for sustained and supportive leadership to normalise food waste management and promote its value as a resource, (2) clearer delineation of responsibilities among stakeholders, and (3) enhanced and consistent funding for waste initiatives. Recommendations include leadership development, comprehensive policy impact assessments, and reliable financial support to strengthen local government operations. This study underscores the importance of empowering local authorities to advance organic waste diversion and reduce emissions. Australia's approach offers actionable strategies that may inform global efforts to address similar challenges.

Household food waste is increasingly recognised as a global wicked problem for its greenhouse gas emissions, economic damage, and resource loss. Although targeted in the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, countries can only respond according to their capacity. For Australia, national policy has put the pressure on states and territories to divert food waste away from landfill into a nascent circular economy. For councils, this increasingly means implementing a FOGO (Food Organics/Garden Organics) kerbside collection. Despite funding and infrastructure development, many are resisting. Framed by the tenets of policy diffusion, this paper presents the results of a nationwide exploratory survey aimed at identifying how and why council-based waste services staff resist, emulate or lead FOGO implementation. By assessing participants current kerbside systems and their attitudes towards household food waste management, the survey found costs, contamination, and capacity and were key concerns. However, responses to these varied considerably despite similarities of situation, often relating more to collaborative attitudes across waste services, council, and councillors. This paper recognises that a conducive environment for change is urgently needed for Australia to achieve organics diversion targets and shift household food towards a circular economy. It provides a starting point for further research into the complex and nuanced dynamics between council waste services and FOGO implementations, from external drivers and council paradigms to individual attitudes and perceptions.

Globally, food waste is a significant environmental, economic and social issue. Food waste in landfill creates the potent greenhouse gas, methane, contributing to climate change, with its management predominantly falling to local governments. Despite efforts by many countries, and extensive infrastructure and market development funding, food waste continues to be landfilled, with apparently similar councils taking diverse approaches. Using a mixed methods study design, data was firstly collected from a National online survey of Australian council-based waste management staff (n = 183), with descriptive and factor analysis of the survey data revealing a strong sense of structural empowerment (PCA.75 to.90) and a preference for sourcing information from networks (48%). These results informed a series of semi-structured interviews (n = 43) which, after thematic analysis, provided rich insights into the attitudinal and situational interpretations council-based waste managers bring to decisions around household food waste management. Framed by four pillars of Structural Empowerment, the findings suggest that waste manager’s attitude is equally as important as support, resources, and knowledge and that, despite mandates and targets, individual motivational factors and organisational paradigms determined decision-making. Identified barriers included perceived capacity constraints, inadequate focus on actionable interventions, and fragmented, uninspiring, planning. This article provides important insights around 1) leveraging networks for knowledge dissemination, 2) fostering capacity-building initiatives, and 3) advocating for sustained engagement with food waste diversion within councils. This underscores the need for additional research into evolving council typologies and effectively engaging key stakeholders to achieve food waste diversion targets and address climate change impacts.

Management of food organics and garden organics (FOGO) has emerged as a critical policy priority due to methane emissions from landfilled organics in Australia. Here, the responsibility for organics recovery rests with state and local governments, resulting in fragmented implementation, differing regulatory settings, and variable landfill levy designs. This study examines the viability of FOGO systems by drawing on three Queensland regional case studies: Lockyer Valley, Rockhampton, and Bundaberg. The study uses qualitative document analysis and comparative case study methods, supported by systems mapping, to examine interactions between policy, governance, infrastructure, and community factors. Seven key domains were identified as being central to system performance: (1) government waste strategy, (2) waste regulation, (3) political acceptance, (4) collection systems, (5) cost and funding, (6) community acceptance, and (7) compost processing. Examining these components collectively demonstrated that effective FOGO delivery relies on their alignment, with each layer reinforcing or constraining the others. To highlight waste regulation tools, the study compared landfill levies as a central economic and governance instrument in two contrasting Australian jurisdictions. In Queensland, the levy operates primarily as a fiscal tool rather than as a behavioural driver, limiting councils’ ability to invest in new services. By contrast, New South Wales’s mandatory FOGO implementation and a more mature regulatory framework have driven widespread service rollout but have also revealed the complexities of enforcing a universal policy in diverse regional contexts. The paper offers new insights into the financial and governance dynamics shaping regional waste policy, demonstrating how whole-of-system coherence is essential for advancing circular economy transitions in dispersed local contexts.

As kerbside waste and recycling management practices evolve, integrating technology, community engagement, and policy enforcement are essential for achieving the transition from linear disposal to circular resource economies. Yet, where councils are the focus, research tends to determine what they should do rather than what they can do, arguably contributing to policy development that shifts waste and recycling management expectations onto local councils rather than producers, consumers and processors. In this study, responses to a poll of Australian council-based waste services staff ( n = 82) are analysed, providing a snapshot of current contamination management processes to assess the efficacy and trends in kerbside collections. Focusing on New South Wales – an Australian state currently transitioning its waste and recycling management practice – the poll revealed trends in contamination strategies, policy responses, and community engagement processes. It also showed an increase in the use of in-truck technology as a tool for identifying contamination events. Results indicated that contamination remains a persistent, increasing, and pernicious issue, with recycling bins exhibiting the highest contamination rates, exceeding 11% in many cases, and 60% of participants noting an increase over the past decade, despite public education efforts. Garden Organics and Garden/Food Organics bins generally have contamination levels below 5%. This study seeks to encourage discussion between policymakers, councils, and researchers on how to optimise kerbside waste and recycling collection systems and promote circular economy principles, thereby narrowing the gap between theory and effective practice.