Food waste

What is FOGO?
FOGO is a kerbside collection and recycling service that allows residents to place food scraps and garden waste into their green-lid bin. This includes:

Food Organics
Fruit and vegetable scraps
Meat and bones
Seafood and shellfish
Bread, rice and pasta
Dairy products
Coffee grounds and tea leaves
Eggshells
Leftovers and spoiled food

Garden Organics
Grass clippings
Leaves
Flowers
Weeds and prunings
Small branches

Instead of being sent to landfill, these materials are processed into compost and soil products that can be used in agriculture, landscaping and land rehabilitation.

Why is Council introducing FOGO?
All councils across NSW are required by the State Government to provide a FOGO recycling service by 2030 under the Protection of the Environment Legislation Amendment (FOGO Recycling) Act 2025. 

Food waste currently makes up around 37% of the average household garbage bin. When this organic material is sent to landfill, it breaks down without oxygen and produces methane – a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. At the same time, valuable nutrients that could be returned to the soil are lost.

The introduction of FOGO is one of the most effective ways households can reduce the amount of waste they send to landfill while making a positive environmental impact. By introducing FOGO, food scraps and garden waste can be diverted from landfill and turned into nutrient-rich compost and soil conditioners for use in parks, gardens and agriculture, supporting a circular economy and creating a more sustainable future for our community.

How does FOGO work?
Using FOGO is simple and easy. Each household will receive a kitchen caddy and a supply of compostable liners (certified AS4736) to help collect food scraps in the kitchen. Simply place your food scraps and any leftovers into the caddy throughout the week.

When the caddy is full, empty the contents into your green-lidded wheelie bin, alongside your garden waste such as grass clippings, leaves, flowers and small branches.

Once FOGO is introduced, your green-lidded bin will be collected weekly. Simply place your bin out on your usual collection day and it will be collected by waste trucks for processing and turned into compost.

What will happen to my red bin?
There will be no changes to your red-lidded general waste bin service. It will continue to be collected weekly on your usual collection day.

The introduction of FOGO is designed to complement your existing waste services by providing a dedicated way to recycle food scraps and garden waste. By placing these materials in your green-lidded FOGO bin instead of your red bin, you'll be able to significantly reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill while keeping your regular waste collection service unchanged.

Will I receive a new wheelie bin?
You will still only have three wheelie bins: one red, one yellow and one green. However, as part of the FOGO rollout, existing green-lidded wheelie bins will be replaced with new FOGO-ready green-lidded wheelie bins.

This is because most current green-lidded bins were designed for garden waste only and are not suitable for the FOGO service. Many have ventilation openings that can allow liquids to escape, which is unsuitable when disposing food waste and can make bins more difficult to clean when food waste is added.

Council will provide residents with plenty of notice before green-lidded bins are replaced, including instructions on when to place your existing green-lidded bin out for removal. Your old bin will be replaced with a new FOGO-ready bin, in time for the commencement of the new service.

Will my collection day change? 
Once FOGO is introduced, your green-lidded bin will be collected weekly instead of fortnightly. Your collection day will remain the same, with only the frequency increasing to ensure food and garden organics are collected regularly and processed efficiently. 

Will I receive a kitchen caddy?
Yes, all households will receive a kitchen caddy and compostable liners (certified AS4736) to help collect food scraps in the kitchen.

How can I prepare?
Start thinking about how you can separate food scraps from your general waste. Council will provide guidance, resources and support to help households transition to the new service.

What can go in my FOGO bin (green-lidded bin)?

• Fruit and vegetables

• Meat, poultry and bones

• Seafood and shells

• Bread, rice and pasta

• Dairy products

• Coffee grounds and tea bags

• Eggshells

• Leftovers and spoiled food

• Grass clippings

• Leaves and flowers

• Small branches and prunings

What cannot go in my FOGO bin (green-lidded bin)?

• Plastic bags

• Compostable plastic bags (unless specifically approved by Council)

• Nappies

• Pet waste

• Liquids

• Soil, rocks or rubble

• Treated timber

• Building materials

• Textiles and clothing

• General household rubbish

When in doubt, leave it out.

Can I put food packaging in the FOGO bin?
No. Remove all packaging, stickers, plastic wrapping and containers before placing food waste in the FOGO bin. Only organic material and compostable liners (AS4736) should go into the FOGO bin.
 

Will my bin smell or attract pests/maggots?
FOGO bins can be managed easily by following a few simple tips:

• Keep the bin lid closed.
• Store bins in a cool, shaded area where possible.
• Freeze meat and seafood scraps and add them to the bin the night before collection.
• Empty your kitchen caddy regularly.
• Place food waste underneath garden material.
• Put bins out for collection regularly.

What should I do during hot weather?
Using approved compostable liners (AS4736), freezing meat scraps until collection day and keeping your caddy and wheelie bin in the shade can help reduce odours in hot weather.

Do I need to separate food and garden waste?
No. Food scraps and garden waste can go into the same, green-lidded wheelie bin. This will become your FOGO bin.

Where can I get more liners?
Council will provide participating households with a supply of compostable caddy liners every six months.

You can also purchase 8L compostable kitchen caddy liners from most major supermarkets and online retailers. When purchasing liners, ensure they are certified to the Australian Standard AS4736 for commercial composting.

Be aware of "greenwashing" claims. Some products are marketed as "eco-friendly", "biodegradable" or "plant-based", but may still contain plastic and are not suitable for FOGO processing. Using non-certified liners can contaminate the composting process and may result in valuable organic material being sent to landfill.

Please note that as compostable liners are designed to break down naturally, they have a limited shelf life. To maintain their quality, store unused liners in a cool, dry place and avoid purchasing more than you are likely to use within a reasonable period.

What happens to my FOGO waste after collection?
The material is transported to an organics processing facility where it will be commercially transformed into compost and soil conditioners used in parks, landscaping and agriculture.

What happens if I put the wrong items in my FOGO bin?
Contamination can affect the quality of the compost produced from FOGO materials. If it is safe to do so, remove the item from your FOGO bin and place it in the correct bin.

Council will provide guidance and resources to help residents use the service correctly and minimise contamination.

What if I don't have garden waste?
FOGO is for everyone. Even households without gardens generate food scraps such as fruit peels, leftovers, coffee grounds and eggshells that can be recycled through the FOGO service.

How can I reduce food waste?
Before food becomes waste, try to:

• Plan meals and shopping lists.
• Store food correctly.
• Use leftovers creatively.
• Freeze excess food.
• Check use-by and best-before dates.

Reducing food waste saves money and helps the environment.

We have launched the Compost Capers program to help you get started composting at home. With educational videos, fact sheets and even giveaways, Compost Capers will help you turn your food and garden scraps into a valuable resource that will improve soil and feed your plants.

Why compost?

Composting is one of the most important and easiest things we can do to benefit the environment. Approximately 50 per cent of the rubbish Australians put in the everyday mixed-waste garbage bin is food scraps.

When organic material such as garden waste and food scraps is buried or compacted anaerobically (without air) in landfills, it causes the production of methane gas, a greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

When food scraps are turned into compost and added to the soil, the benefits are:

• greatly increasing carbon absorbing capability of the soil, reducing the effects of climate change
• enhances water retention ability of the soil, reducing the need for water by an average of 30 per cent
• greatly improves soil quality, texture and provides rich nutrients/fertiliser for plants.

There are many ways to compost, using a compost bin and/or worm farm are just two ways we can recycle organics at home. For more information attend one of Council’s free workshops or download:

• Worm Farming Fact Sheet
• Composting Fact Sheet