Sydney, Sep 21 (IANS): Residents in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) have been encouraged to transform their household food and garden waste into compost with the extension of an environmental program.

Announcing the ongoing rollout of a recycling scheme on Wednesday, NSW environment minister James Griffin said the new food organics and garden organics (FOGO) collection service would ultimately help the state towards its target of net-zero carbon emissions by 2030, reports Xinhua news agency.

"When FOGO waste ends up in landfill, it rots and generates damaging greenhouse gases," Griffin said.

"Go FOGO will divert half a million tonnes of waste and instead see it processed into compost and used in large-scale agriculture, parks or gardens where it can improve soil health and boost yields."

He said the government would spend A$46 million ($30 million) in grants in the latest stage of its program.

More than 40 councils have become involved since 2013.

Griffin said the latest council grants could lead to about 2 million more households going FOGO.

"FOGO is helping households and councils in NSW reduce emissions, make the most of a valuable resource, and save money on landfill disposal costs," Griffin said.

The Minister said the government would spend A$69 million during the next five years on a range of related environmental projects.

Among those initiatives is a program to build or upgrade 30 FOGO waste-processing facilities aimed at processing up to 600,000 tonnes a year.

New programs are also being developed to increase food donations and support businesses in recycling food waste.