Food and garden organics bins
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Your food and garden organics service is changing
From 1 July 2023 you will need to sort your waste into 4 different bins. Go to our Your new bins page for more information about these changes.
Food and garden organics bins will be collected weekly from 1 July 2023
If you don't already have a light green-lidded food and garden organics bin, you will receive a new 120 litre bin in June.
- You can start using this bin straight away once you receive it.
- Weekly collections of this bin will begin in July.
- If you already have a food and garden organics bin, you will keep the one you have.
Food and garden organics (FOGO) bin collection
All your waste services are collected on the same day of the week.
Until 30 June 2023, we will continue to collect your food and garden organics (FOGO) fortnightly, on the same day as your garbage and recycling collection. Weekly FOGO collections will begin in July.
Our FOGO bins have a light green lid and were previously called the green waste bin. You can place food scraps in this bin along with your garden waste. For tips on how to use the service, refer to our food and garden organics user guide.
To find out when your FOGO collection day will be, enter your address below.
Enter your address
For general waste tips and a Merri-bek-wide calendar, you can download our 2023 Waste Collection Calendar (PDF). For a printed waste collection calendar, contact us on 9240 1111.
There is a waste management charge in your rates that covers FOGO collection. You can find out more about this on our Understanding your rates page. The charge also includes garbage, recycling, and hard waste collection.
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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.
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The following items can go in your FOGO bin:
- food waste
- leaves, twigs and branches
- grass clippings and weeds, including noxious weeds
Food waste includes:
- fruit and vegetable scraps
- citrus, onions and garlic
- meat, bones and seafood scraps
- coffee grounds and loose tea leaves
- egg shells
- dairy products
- bread, pasta and cereal
- leftovers
- paper towel or newspaper that lines your kitchen caddy
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The following items cannot go in your FOGO bin:
- plastic bags (including compostable or biodegradable bags)
- plastic packaging (including compostable or biodegradable packaging)
- food packaging (including cling wrap, ties and stickers)
- garden waste or food waste in plastic bags
- coffee cups and plastic plates
- plant pots
- tree stumps, soil and ash
- sharps and medicine
- vacuum dust and hair (including pet hair)
- dishcloths
- wooden icy pole sticks
- kitty litter, dog or cat droppings
- nappies and baby wipes (even if labelled compostable)
- recyclable materials
- household rubbish
- shredded paper (use this in your home compost bin or worm farm)
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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 six to ten days to be turned into soil conditioner and compost.
The Back to Earth Initiative has 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.
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Food scraps can smell as they break down.
A few ways you can reduce the likelihood of your kitchen caddy smelling bad:
- Line your kitchen caddy with 1 to 2 layers of newspaper or paper towel
- Wrap smelly food scraps in newspaper or paper towel
- Empty your kitchen caddy into the FOGO bin every two to three days
- Keep your kitchen caddy closed and don't overfill it
- Wash your caddy regularly
- Sprinkle bicarb soda (baking soda) in your kitchen caddy to absorb the smell
A few ways you can reduce the likelihood of your FOGO bin smelling bad:
- Put scraps like prawn shells and meat in your freezer, and transfer them to your FOGO bin close to your collection day
- Layer your food scraps between your garden waste
- Line the bottom of your FOGO bin with dry garden waste, leaves or twigs to stop food scraps sticking to the bin
- Sprinkle bicarb soda (baking soda) in your FOGO bin to absorb the smell
- Keep your bin in the shade (where possible) and don't overfill it
- Wash your bin out from time to time with soap and a hose
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Currently over 50% of Merri-bek's waste that goes to landfill is food organics. When this waste breaks down it creates methane gas. This is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Our decision to change our green waste to FOGO bins was to reduce the amount of food organic waste in landfill.
Our food and garden organics (FOGO) service works alongside home composting. It is also an option for people that cannot or do not process their food scraps.
The food and garden organics that we collect is turned into compost, which is used to enrich the soil at farms, parks and gardens.
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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.
The food and garden organics (FOGO) bin is the new name for the green waste bin. If you already have a green waste bin you can start placing food in this bin along with your garden waste.
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Residents who want to use the FOGO sercice for food scraps are eligible for a complimentary benchtop caddy to collect food scraps in their kitchen.
- If you already have a FOGO bin you will need to collect your complimentary caddy from a Customer Service Centre.
- If you order a new bin or upsize your existing bin, your caddy will be delivered along with your bin.
Damaged caddies will not be replaced by us. The caddy is a one-off complimentary item to support residents who wish to use the service.
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Our Residential Kerbside Waste Services booklet is about our kerbside waste services. This also has information about composting, hard waste, and local transfer stations.
Our Waste Services in the City of Merri-bek brochure is about disposing of things that don't go in your bins.
To request a printed copy you can call us on 9240 1111.
Shared bins at multi-unit developments and apartment sites
We provide shared bins for multi-unit and apartment sites across Merri-bek. These are for use by all residents at the property.
- Multi-unit developments with 4 or more dwellings will have shared FOGO bins. One 240 litre FOGO bin will be shared between 6 units, to a maximum of 3 FOGO bins in total at the property. A maximum of 4 caddies will be delivered to the property and extra caddies can be collected from a Customer Service Centre. You can find the locations and contact details for our Customer Service Centres on our Contact us page.
- Multi-unit developments with fewer than 4 dwellings will have individual FOGO bins.
- If you live in a multi-unit development or apartment and would like a FOGO bin, you can order one using the form on our Bin delivery, repairs and replacements page.
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To ensure that everyone at a site can effectively use shared bins you need to:
- Store the bins in a central location so that everyone can access the bins
- Agree who will take out the bins for collection and bring them in
- Assess if the capacity of the different bins is meeting the requirements of the site. Discuss this with your owners corporation or body corporate
- Ensure shared bins do not weigh more than 30kg and are not overfilled as we will not be able to collect them
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To reduce the amount of general waste produced at your development you can:
- Order a food and garden organics (FOGO) bin online for your garden and food waste
- Order a compost bin or worm farm from Compost Community for your food waste