FOGO like a Pro

A 240L certified compostable liner is NOT recommended in the green bin as it prevents the bin vents from doing their job of drying organic waste matter moisture. Also, layering food scraps with loose leaves and grass clippings helps suppress odours developing in the green bin.

Here are some other tips to keep your green bin in good order:

• Add citronella or tea tree oil to deter insects
• Keep your bin out of direct sunlight
• Sprinkle in some bi-carb soda to suppress odours
• Keep meat and seafood scraps in the freezer until closer to bin collection day
• Occasionally give the bin a rinse-out after collection.

Multi-Unit Dwellings (MUDs) such as apartments; units and flats, residential developments with 3 or more dwellings or complexes with shared bins on the same parcel of land will receive a green bin at a later stage. Details will be outlined in Council’s next 4 year Delivery Program (2025/26 – 2028/29). Stay tuned for more information.

Your current weekly red bin and fortnightly yellow bin collections remain the same. 

The new fortnightly green bin is collected the week after your yellow bin. Put it out on the same day as your red bin. Your caddy stays in the kitchen at all times.

Check your waste calendar for the collection schedule in your street. 

Using Council-supplied certified compostable liners will help reduce smells coming from your green bin. Tying off your compostable liner before dropping it into your green bin will reduce the likelihood of odours and flies.

Here are some other tips to minimise odours and pest attraction to your green bin: 

• Place your green bin out for collection fortnightly.
• Layer food scraps in your green bin with sticks, leaves, or lawn clippings from your garden to minimise odours.
• Position your green bin in a shaded area to avoid direct sunlight, which can accelerate decomposition and odours.
• Place twigs or branches at the bottom of your wheelie bin to enhance airflow and prevent food from sticking.
• Rinse your wheelie bin periodically with a hose or boiling water to maintain cleanliness and prevent odours.

By following these guidelines, you can contribute to effective food recycling with minimal odour and pest issues associated with your green bin.

A kitchen caddy is a small 7L container for food waste. Leave it in your kitchen so you can collect food scraps when you're preparing and cleaning up after meals.

Line your kitchen caddy with a Council-supplied certified compostable liner. Tie the liner when it's full and drop it in the green bin. Put a new liner in your kitchen caddy and start collecting food waste again.

It's important that you DO NOT USE plastic bags in the kitchen caddy or green bin.

Use either Council-supplied certified compostable liners or Australian certified (with the seedling logo AS 4736) compostable liners made from corn starch if you are purchasing from the store. These break down with the food scraps in the composting process. 

Alternatively, you can wrap your food scraps in newspaper or put them straight into your green bin.

Ordinary plastic bags and other types of ‘degradable’ or 'biodegradable' bags are not acceptable as they are not compostable. Uncertified biodegradable plastic bags will break down into micro plastics which are harmful to the environment and our health. For that reason, plastic bags and ‘degradable’ or 'biodegradable' bags are NOT accepted by the FOGO processing facility and must be placed in your red bin.

No, but we can only keep domestic waste charges low if everyone does the right thing.

Placing garden and food organics in the green bin will free up space in the red bin which means Council pays less to the NSW Government in waste taxes, passing these savings on to residents through a more affordable Domestic Waste Charge in your rates. 

The annual Domestic Waste Charge includes collection, transport and landfill costs. The NSW Environmental Protection Agency applies a waste levy for every ton of material sent to landfill. For the 2023/24 period it was $163.20 per ton, a 7.65% increase on the previous year.

Landfill capacity is also finite. As existing landfill capacity approaches zero, the cost to dispose waste at another landfill facility is likely to be more significant than it is now.

All single-unit dwellings who pay a Domestic Waste Charge including: houses, duplexes, and townhouses are entitled to the FOGO service including a 240L green bin and 7L kitchen caddy.

We will be rolling out the FOGO service to multi-unit dwellings such as apartments, units, and flats in the next phase. 

That’s great, keep it up! FOGO can complement your home composting. You can place certain items into your green FOGO bin that some home composting systems can’t accept such as cooked foods, meat, bones, dairy and citrus.

No. Other biodegradable and compostable products, such as single-use cutlery and crockery, are made from fibrous materials that need special conditions to be processed properly. Therefore, our FOGO composting facility does not accept these materials.

Instead, dispose of these items in the red bin.

The dark-green lidded bin for general waste is different to the green FOGO bin which has a lime coloured lid, black body and lime green vents for air circulation. Continue to use your dark-green lidded bin for your weekly domestic waste collection. 

New house developments are entitled to the 3-Bin Waste Service consisting of red, green and yellow bins and the kitchen caddy.

Under the NSW Government’s Waste & Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041, all NSW councils must have a FOGO service to significantly reduce the amount of organic material entering landfill. Around 80 councils in Australia are already doing FOGO with more in Sydney coming onboard soon.

The NSW Government has a role to play in regional facilities, such as landfills, retaining sufficient capacity to meet Sydney’s growing demand – for residential, commercial and construction waste to be tipped. The Waste Levy provides an incentive to find a cheaper alternative to sending waste to landfill.

Food organics and garden organics (FOGO) are a beneficial resource if collected and processed appropriately.  Not tipping them at landfill, extends the life of landfills and reduces their greenhouse gas generation. When FOGO waste is collected separately, it is turned into compost to be used in farms, parks, and sports fields.

FOGO will have huge environmental benefits and help maintain our beautiful suburbs, parks, and reserves for everyone to enjoy. The key NSW Government requirement is to introduce a Food Organics Garden Organics weekly collection by 2030.

Council manages its waste services to comply with NSW Government regulation, including payment of the Waste Levy (or tax) for all waste material going to landfill.