Innovative food waste recycling pilot greening high-rise living 

 In an Australian first, 50 households within the Marina Square community at Wentworth Point in Sydney’s Inner West are trialling benchtop dehydrators that convert kitchen scraps into odour-free fertiliser. Australian company enrich360’s 12-week pilot is set to be a game-changer for FOGO recycling in high-density communities, and already after just four weeks, over 860 litres of food waste have been diverted from landfill. 

Under the pilot study, Eco 5 bench top dehydrator units have been given to 50 residents at Marina Square, with the fertiliser collected and used within its communal gardens. In the first four weeks alone, residents have collectively completed over 200 cycles, diverting over 862 litres of food waste from landfill – enough to fill seven 120-litre FOGO bins. This has avoided an estimated 770 kilograms of CO2 emissions, equal to planting 37 trees. 

By 2030, every household needs to have a weekly waste service for food or garden organics (FOGO) under the NSW Government’s FOGO Recycling Act 2025. With an estimated 5 million Australians expected to live in apartments by 2030, dehydrators like the Eco 5 have potential as a valuable tool to manage FOGO waste in high-rise communities. 

The Eco 5 unit is similar in size to an air-fryer and can process meat, fruit, vegetables and flowers – even non-compostable waste like meat bones, avocado seeds and oyster shells. It dehydrates and grinds the waste, removing odour and reducing its mass by up to 90%. The resulting organic fertiliser is dry, pathogen-free, and can be used to feed plants. 

Initial results show that residents are completing cycles at least once a week in each household, reflecting the Eco 5’s role in boosting FOGO recycling. According to enrich360 CEO Jaclyn Geddes, after just four weeks the pilot is already creating behavioural shifts with tangible benefits, as residents are confronted by the reality of food waste. 

“We’ve seen a very encouraging response to the pilot. It’s driving significant behavioural change, with the Eco 5 giving people a firsthand view at how much food they waste each week and encouraging them to rethink their consumption habits,” said Mrs Geddes. 

“But the aim of this pilot isn’t just to reduce food waste – it’s also to create a movement and make the Eco 5 more accessible to everyone. Based on this early data, each apartment could save more than 200 kilograms of CO2 over 12 months – the equivalent of each household planting 10 trees a year. I’d like to see it become as essential to any apartment kitchen as a fridge or microwave.” 

According to Billbergia Group, the developer behind Marina Square, the Eco 5 pilot is just one way that emissions are being reduced within the new urban precinct. 

“Wentworth Point is one of the Inner West’s greenest high-density suburbs. The pioneering Eco 5 trial reflects this, with further sustainability initiatives also underway throughout Marina Square – such as a large-scale LED lighting upgrade and a proposal for kerbside EV charging,” said Saul Moran, Development Director – Planning and Design at Billbergia Group. 

CASE STUDY: MARK GREEN 

Eco-conscious Marina Square resident Mark Green has long championed recycling within his community. He had been looking for ways to increase FOGO recycling across Marina Square’s eight buildings, which collectively house some 1,500 residents. 

He initially coordinated a high-rise FOGO trial, providing green bins across the precinct for residents to place food scraps. However it proved troublesome, with the usual problems faced by FOGO in high-rise living – including smells, pests, and contamination. 

Shortly after, he helped champion the Eco 5 pilot. As the first resident to use it, Mark says that it has been a game-changer. Aside from reducing food waste volumes, the Eco 5 trial is changing residents’ behaviour – including his own. 

“It’s amazing to see the impact it’s had, not just on myself but my neighbours too. Residents are already using the fertiliser in their pot plants and in our communal gardens,” said Mark. 

“We find ourselves producing less fertiliser from the Eco 5 now, because when we place our food scraps inside, we realise just how much we waste. So, we now focus on buying smarter and minimising waste.” 

Mark would like to see the Eco 5 adopted in apartment buildings across Sydney, and views it as an innovative way to enable FOGO recycling in high-density communities. 

“FOGO recycling in high-rise buildings is a challenge, but if we rolled out the Eco 5 across the state, we’d have less problems getting people to recycle their food waste – no more issues than we would have with our standard red and yellow bins,” Mark added. 

Source: Green Review on 9 October 2025