WHAT IS FOGO?
FOGO is an acronym- Food Organics Garden Organics.
It's a kerbside collection service adding food waste to garden organics to be collected and recycled into compost.
If your council has provided you with a FOGO bin, you can put most food scraps in that bin including meat and dairy. Check directly with your council to see if they have any restrictions using Recycling Near You.
What goes in the FOGO bin?
This will vary from council to council.
Generally, a FOGO bin will accept all food scraps including:
- Fruit and veggie peels
- Cooked food scraps
- Grains
- Meat, bones and dairy products
- Compostable caddy liners supplied by your council ONLY. These caddy liners will comply with Australian Standard AS 4736-2006.
- Fibre based kitchen caddy liners (paper or newspaper)
- Garden organic including clippings, dried leaves and weeds
Materials that aren't accepted in FOGO service include
- Pet poo and pet poo bags
- Bamboo, timber or cardboard packaging and cutlery
- Serviettes
- Compostable or biodegradable plastic products or bags
- Vacuum cleaner dust, washing machine lint or dryer lint
What is the FOGO process?
What is FOGO used for?
FOGO material will be taken to a regional composting site. The material will be checked for contamination and then undergo a combination of static and forced air composting processes.
The compost produced from FOGO material can be sold to farmers and industry, used in parks and gardens or for rehabilitating land. The potential uses for the compost will be determined by contamination levels.
What is the point of FOGO?
FOGO services provide accessible solutions to food and organic waste that people in multi-occupancy dwellings, workplaces, and schools utilise when they can't create solutions of their own.
Further Information
Some councils offer Food Organic and Garden Organic (FOGO) services through regular kerbside collections. Check with your local council to see if yours is one of them.
FOGO Across Australia
Halving Australia's food waste by 2030 is the target of the National Food Waste Strategy, which you can read more about here.
Each state has its own roll out plan, actions and sometimes funding which can enable local councils to introduce FOGO in their area.
Click on your state or territory.
