Food and garden organics bins

Your food and garden organics bin is for food scraps and garden waste. It has a light green lid. All residential properties with a council waste service must have access to a food and garden organics bin.

We collect your food and garden organics bins weekly on your normal collection day.

Our food and garden organics bins are also known as FOGO bins. They were previously called the green waste bin.

The cost of the FOGO collection is recovered through the itemised waste charge on owner annual rates notice. You can find out more about this on our Understanding your rates page. 

How to use your food and garden organics bin

You can place food scraps and leftovers in this bin along with your garden waste.

To learn how to use the service and what happens to your food and garden organics (FOGO) waste, refer to our FOGO user guide (PDF 1.7MB) or explore the information below.

What happens to my food and garden waste?

Your food and garden organics (FOGO) waste is a valuable resource. The FOGO waste that we collect is turned into compost, which is used to enrich the soil at farms, parks and gardens.

Collected FOGO waste goes to the Veolia organics processing facility in Bulla, Victoria, where it takes only 6 to 10 days to be turned into soil conditioner and compost.

Watch our video below to learn more.

The Back to Earth Initiative has also created a video about the journey of FOGO waste. You can also find out more about what happens to FOGO waste on the Back to Earth website.

Food and garden organics bin collection

We collect your food and garden organics weekly, on your normal weekly collection day.

To find out when your FOGO collection day is, enter your address on our waste collection calendar, 

For a printed waste collection calendar, contact us on 9240 1111.

Common questions about FOGO bins

• Where should I put my bin for collection

  Put your bins out by 5:30am on your bin collection day. You can also put your bins out the night before.

  Put your bin on the kerb at the edge of your street. Make sure the bin is facing the street and that there are no objects within 30cm (such as a car, tree or another bin).

  Any waste left beside or on top of the bin will not be collected.

  If your street is a court or cul-de-sac, place your bins along the straight part of the kerb.

  Below are some diagrams that show this placement.

  

  

• How do I get a kitchen caddy?

  If you don’t already have one, you can collect a complimentary kitchen caddy from a Customer Service Centre for a limited time.

  Damaged caddies will not be replaced by us. The caddy is a one-off complimentary item to support residents to use the service.

  Kitchen caddies are used to collect food scraps in your home, before putting in the FOGO bin.

• Can I change the size of my FOGO bin?

  The available sizes for FOGO are 120 litres (standard) or 240 litres.

  Go to our Bin repairs and replacements page for information about how to change your bin or get a new bin. This includes damaged bins, lost or stolen bins, changing your bin size or ordering a bin for your property.

   

• How can I reduce my household waste?

  Learn more about reducing household waste, including avoiding food waste on our Reducing waste webpage.

• Where can I get more information on using shared bins?

  If you live in a unit, townhouse or apartment block and share bins with your neighbours, visit our Bins at units, townhouses and apartments webpage for tips on using shared bins.

• What is the waste charge?

  An annual waste charge is included on property rates notices each year. This charge recovers the full cost of delivering the kerbside waste collection service, including general rubbish, food and garden organics, mixed recycling, glass recycling and hard waste collections.

  You can learn more about the waste charge on our Understand your rates and waste charge page.

240-litre FOGO bin transition period

The 240 litre FOGO transition applications for owners closed on the 31st May.  

Owners that applied to have bin size changed to a smaller 120 litre FOGO bin or remove an additional 120 litre FOGO bin will take place in Aug 25 to Sep 25. The lower 120 litre charge will be applied for the full 25/26 period. 

We will send you a reminder letter in July 2025 explaining what to do with your old 240 litre FOGO bin or additional 120 litre FOGO bin. The letter will also have a more accurate date for the when we deliver your new bin.  Please continue to use your bins normally.

If you missed this opportunity to change to a 120-litre FOGO bin, property owners can still change their bin size at any time, however the $69.40 bin changeover fee will apply. Owners can apply and pay a bin change over fee to change the size of any of their bins on our Bin capacity changes, repairs or replacements page. 

Changing the size of your bins impacts the annual waste charge on the owners rates notice. For more information on the waste charge please visit our Understand your rates webpage.