Three-bin FOGO system

Food Organics

• Raw or cooked fruit and vegetables (including peels)
• Raw or cooked dairy, meat and seafood scraps (including shells and bones)
• Bread, cereals, grains, pasta
• Coffee grounds and tea bags
• Oils and fats (in small quantities, poured onto a paper towel or cardboard)
• Out-of-date food (unpackaged)
• Please remove any stickers or wax.

Garden Organics

• Lawn clippings
• Garden pruning (under 5cm in diameter)
• Leaves and flowers
• Weeds (including seeding weeds)
• Straw or hay. 

Caddy liners

• Certified Australian Standard compostable caddy liners (look for the seedling logo AS 4736).

Other Organics

• Paper products – tissues, paper towels, shredded paper, food-soiled cardboard (no staples or tape)
• Animal droppings.

When in doubt, leave it out.

View a full A-Z list of what goes into which bin.

Prepare for FOGO: Practice your source separation skills and try your hand at the Recycle Right sorting game(open in new window).

Some plant or natural materials can be mistaken for going in the FOGO bin. These items won’t compost during FOGO processing and should be placed in the red-lid general waste bin, donated, or taken to one of the City’s recycling centres.  

Do not put the following in your lime green-lid FOGO bin:

• “Biodegradable” products like nappies, toothbrushes, feminine hygiene items
• Fruit stickers and wax
• Greaseproof baking paper, aluminium foil, “biodegradable” cling film
• Ash and barbecue charcoal
• Cane baskets, ropes, door mats, coir products, and coconut shells
• Rags, clothing, and textiles
• Terracotta pots and roof tiles
• Large amounts of fertiliser
• Cigarette butts
• Vacuum cleaner contents and dryer lint
• Cork, cellophane, cotton wool
• Leather goods, including shoes
• Building rubble such as bricks and concrete (take these to one of our recycling centres)
• Logs, timber, and branches over 5cm thick (take these to one of our recycling centres).
• Kitty litter.

When in doubt, leave it out.

View a full A-Z list of what goes into which bin.

Remember that hazardous or electronic waste should never be placed in any of your kerbside bins. Please take them to a collection point or the City’s recycling centres.

Large pieces of shredded garden waste take a very long time to decompose, so they don’t belong in the FOGO system. 

If you have a pile of larger garden organics, please:

• Book a bulk verge collection (if eligible) 
• Use your annual bulk waste passes (if eligible) 
• Visit one of our Recycling Centres for shredding into non-certified green mulch
   

Once FOGO rolls out in your area, you will place two bins on your verge each week. 
The lime green-lid FOGO bin will be collected weekly. The yellow-lid recycling bin and red-lid general waste bin will be collected on alternate fortnights.

Find your bin days 
 

Audits have shown the average household produces a lot of recoverable waste. You may find you produce significantly less general waste than you expected.

We encourage everyone to try their best to make the new system work. However, if you’ve tried your best and your bins are still overflowing, here are some options:

• Take eligible containers to a Container Deposit Scheme refund point, like the one at Recycling Centre – Bullsbrook
• Collapse cardboard boxes before putting them in your recycling bin
• If your recycling bin is full, put paper and cardboard products into the FOGO bin as a last resort or find other ways to reuse these items before disposal 
• Take your items to one of the City's recycling centres for free – you can visit as much as you need. Learn what’s accepted
• Visit your nearest bulk food distributor to reduce food packaging
• Drop off unwanted clothing, packing boxes and household items in good condition to your local op shop or offer them on your local Buy Nothing Facebook group
• Remember that hazardous or electronic waste should never be placed in any of your kerbside bins. Please take them to a collection point or one of the City’s recycling centres 
• For large items that are broken or in poor condition, book a verge collection with us. For properties not eligible for verge collection, you could use your provided annual bulk waste passes
• Switch single-use products for reusable alternatives, such as cloth nappies or reusable cutlery. In the long run, this option ends up saving you money, too.

If you’re doing all of this and still have problems with space, you have the following options:

Yellow-lid recycling bin

• Upsize from 240L to 360L for free
• Downsize from 360L to 240L. This is free during your stage of the rollout, after which an establishment fee applies.

Lime green-lid FOGO bin

• Downsize from 240L to 140L. This is free during a rollout stage, after which an establishment fee applies. 

Red-lid general waste bin

• Upsize your 140L red-lid general waste bin to 240L for an additional annual fee. This option is only available six weeks after your property transitions to the three-bin system, so you have a chance to try the 140L general waste bin
• An exceptional circumstances exemption from this fee is available for community members whose general waste is impacted by a medical condition. If you believe you're eligible for this exemption, please complete an exceptional circumstances form before the start of your rollout stage
• You can also apply for an additional red-lid general waste bin in either a 140L or 240L size. An establishment fee and an annual fee will apply to each additional bin. 

FOGO waste is taken to a processing facility. The waste will be checked for contamination and go through a rigorous composting process.

The compost can then be used for farms, parks, gardens and land rehabilitation projects.

Once your FOGO materials are collected, they will be processed into a high-quality compost that’s made to meet Australian standards. 

The compost can be used to add valuable nutrients to soil, improve water retention in non-wetting soil and break up clay in soils with a high clay content. 

Once the compost is added to your soil, it becomes a highly desirable environment for microorganisms and insects, improving your overall soil health and the immunity of your plants. 

The Eastern Metropolitan Regional Council (EMRC) will process the City’s raw FOGO material and they plan to package a portion of the derived compost so that it can then be made available to the community for use on their gardens. 

We will share details about availability and cost once the EMRC has finalised their plans.

Landfill sites are anaerobic environments, meaning they don’t contain oxygen. 
When organic matter starts to break down in landfill, methane gas is produced and the organic material doesn’t decompose fully. 

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.

 FOGO removes all this green waste and food scraps from general waste and composts it. As a result, FOGO produces a valuable product for our community and reduces the harmful environmental impacts of general waste.

Most importantly, it creates a resource loop where:

1. Food is grown in your veggie garden
2. Veggie scraps go into your lime green-lid FOGO bin
3. The FOGO material is composted
4. You buy the compost and put it on your veggie garden
5. The compost provides nutrients to your veggies and the resource loop continues. 
    

You will get a kitchen caddy during the FOGO rollout when we replace your current green-lid with a lime green FOGO lid. Empty your caddy into your FOGO bin every few days to avoid odours.

You can collect meat scraps separately and store them in the freezer until bin collection day.
 

Yes, the kitchen caddy is dishwasher-safe and can go on the lower shelf of your dishwasher. 

You can also hand wash it each time it is emptied or wipe it out with a vinegar solution. 

You can pick up a replacement caddy, or caddy parts, at any of the City’s libraries, leisure centres or the City’s administration building.

You will receive two rolls of compostable caddy liners with your new kitchen caddy. Each roll has 75 liners.

Every 12 months, you are eligible for two more rolls of liners free of charge, on proof of residency.

You can get more compostable bags from: 

• Any of the City's libraries or leisure centres 
• Supermarkets - the bags must be certified compostable (AS 4736). Look out for the below logo.

“Biodegradable” or “recycled plastic” bags are not the same as compostable bags. These will break down into microplastics and contaminate the FOGO composting system.

You can also line the caddy with brown paper bags, newspaper, paper towels or paper serviettes. Some people choose to go without a liner and wash their caddies in their dishwasher. 

To minimise odours from your organic waste, the lime green lid FOGO bin is collected weekly.

You can minimise odours in between collections by:

• Emptying your kitchen caddy regularly
• Keeping your kitchen caddy clean – it is dishwasher-safe
• Freezing your meat scraps until bin collection day
• Using the supplied compostable kitchen caddy liners
• Layering your lime green lid FOGO bin with dry materials such as leaves or shredded paper 
• Storing your lime green lid FOGO bin in a cool, shady area where possible
• Washing your bins a few times a year with detergent and a broom.

Odours in your red-lid general waste bin from items such as nappies, feminine hygiene products and biomedical waste can be reduced by:

• Emptying nappy contents into the toilet before placing the nappy in your red-lid general waste bin
• Wrapping items in newspaper or reusing food packaging such as plastic bread bags
• Using reusable sanitary products and cloth nappies.

You can prevent pests such as birds and flies from becoming a nuisance by:

• Ensuring that the lid is securely closed. You can weigh it down with a brick
• Keeping your bin clean with bi-carb soda, detergent, anti-bacterial spray or eucalyptus or tea tree oil to help repel flies.
• Hosing down your bin regularly in warmer months when odour can be an issue.

Yes, animal droppings and waste from cleaning out your rabbit hutch can be put in your lime green-lid FOGO bin. 

Kitty litter belongs in the general waste bin.

Used nappies (compostable, biodegradable, or conventional) belong in the red-lid General Waste bin. 

Human waste can’t be processed into compost that meets Australian Standards. 

To minimise any smells from used nappies:

• Empty nappy contents into the toilet before placing the nappy in your red-lid general waste bin
• Wrap nappy in newspaper or re-use food packaging such as a plastic bread bag
• Consider joining the reusables revolution! Reusable cloth nappies are widely available and are a popular alternative to disposables. Visit Clean Cloth Nappies and Australian Nappy Association for more information.
   

Thank you! Making your own compost is rewarding, and we need more people like you. 

The great news is the FOGO system handles organic items that can’t be composted at home. You can now put them in your lime green-lid FOGO bin. 

These include meat scraps and bones, dairy products, eggs, bread, grains such as rice, small amounts oil and fats, condiments, citrus peels, table scraps, weeds with seeds, and larger branches (less than 5cm in diameter).

Unfortunately, a bigger lime green-lid FOGO bin is not available at this time.