Find out what food and garden organic materials can be put in your lime green-lid bin.
How often does the food and garden organics (FOGO) bin get collected?
The bin collection frequency is:
- weekly FOGO and rubbish
- fortnightly glass and recycling.
What if I need a larger FOGO bin?
We offer a limited number of 240 litre bins for residents located within leafy suburbs where the bins will mainly be used for garden waste.
Communal Food Organics drop off hubs
You can recycle your Food Organic material at our communal community hubs, located at the Clifton Hill Depot, Burnley Depot and Burnley Golf Course.
More community hub locations will be added as we identify more areas.
What can/cannot go to in the FOGO bin?
Many materials that previously went into the rubbish stream can now be recycled in your FOGO bin.
The following items can go in your FOGO bin:
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Bread, cereal and baked goods
- Meat, seafood and bones
- Eggs
- Looseleaf tea and coffee grounds
- Leftovers
- Dairy products, including yoghurt
- Rice, pasta and beans
- Citrus, onion and garlic
- Leaves, plants, twigs, grass and weeds
- Grass and lawn clippings
- Small branches and logs (up to 10cm in diameter and 40cm in length)
- Newspaper and paper towel
- Human hair and animal fur
The following items cannot go in your FOGO bin:
- Products labelled compostable or bio-degradable (including bags)
- Plastic bags
- Tea bags and coffee pods
- Pet faeces, animal remains and litter tray contents
- Bamboo
- Wood products such as wooden utensils
- Large branches (unless pruned and cut up to less than 40cm in length and 10cm in diameter)
- Paper and paper bags, such as paper shopping bags from major supermarket chains
- Any item that goes in your recycling or glass bin
- Wet wipes
- Nappies
- Liquids and cooking oil
What happens to the materials collected in the FOGO bin?
Council collects the materials from your lime green-lidded FOGO bin and transports this valuable resource to our processor RepurposeIT’s facility in Epping, where it is turned into compost. The compost is primarily used on farms to grow fresh local food, and in parks and gardens.
By recovering this valuable material, we can ensure that it is reused and continues to provide value to our community. It’s only waste if it’s wasted!
How do I best use this service?
There are three steps you can keep in mind if you want to minimise the amount of food waste you produce at home:
- Food Waste Avoidance – Reduce the amount of food you throw away by being intentional with your purchasing habits. Learn more about how to avoid food waste at home.
- Composting/worm farming – Take advantage of Yarra’s Partnership with Compost Revolution and purchase a subsidised compost bin/worm farm to recycle your food waste at home.
- Use your FOGO bin – Place your remaining food and garden organic materials in your FOGO bin for collection.
FOGO bins are a standard size of 120 litres for all households and dwelling types.
Yes, if your business does not produce domestic food or garden organic waste, such as food scraps from a staff lunchroom or garden, tree or plant waste. Please note that if you choose to opt out of receiving a FOGO bin, you will not receive a reduction in your kerbside waste rate.
Commercial properties who wish to opt out of receiving a FOGO bin and service should lodge a bin retrieval request by clicking here or contact Council.
Yes! We encourage you to reduce all avoidable food waste. For tips and tricks join our 'Food Waste Challenge’ and continue with your own composting/worm farming. You can use your FOGO bin for items which aren't recommended for home composting, such as meat, citrus peel and dairy.
The cost of providing all kerbside waste collection services is included in the Kerbside Waste Rate listed on your annual rates notice.
The kerbside waste rate is expected to increase in the first year due to the cost of introducing the new FOGO service. However, over the long-term Council will work hard to divert more material from landfill, which will hopefully reduce costs for everyone.
No, we do not provide kitchen caddies. We recommend re-using household items that work for your kitchen space and capacity instead, such as ice-cream, yoghurt or Tupperware containers.
As part of Yarra's Circular Economy Strategy, we are committed to minimising waste at all stages of a product’s lifecycle. By not providing kitchen caddies to our community, we are avoiding generating additional waste produced during the manufacturing and disposal of caddies.
Compostable liners are not accepted in FOGO bins. This is because the Victorian Government will be releasing household waste and recycling service standards in 2025. These standards will determine what items can and cannot go in each type of Council kerbside bin, including FOGO bins. The current draft version suggests that compostable liners will not be permitted, so Yarra has followed this advice.
Apartment buildings with private bin collection services are not eligible for a Council FOGO service. We encourage you to contact your owners’ corporation or building manager to explore options for a private FOGO service.
Alternatively, some community gardens and neighbourhood houses invite residents to drop off food waste for community composting. Yarra residents can also drop off food waste to our Clifton Hill Recycling Centre.
Before your FOGO bin is emptied on collection day, our staff will do a visual check of the contents of each bin. If there are non-accepted items or materials in your bin, it's deemed contaminated and will not be emptied.
We will place a sticker on your bin to explain why it was not emptied and tell you what you need to remove before collection can take place. The sticker also has instructions on how to request collection after the bin has been decontaminated.
When the lid of your FOGO bin is completely closed it should not attract pests or any significant smell. However, the following strategies can reduce the risk of bad odours and pests:
- ensure FOGO bins are put out for collection every week, regardless of how full they are
- store FOGO bins in the shade, away from windows (if possible)
- layer food waste with garden waste (if available), newspaper or paper towel
- put meat and seafood in the freezer until the night before collection
- sprinkle contents with baking soda
- put 5cm of water at the bottom of each FOGO bin after collection (works best with FOGO bins containing a combination of food and garden organic material) - When the bins are emptied, the water will wash the bin
- Rinse your bin with natural detergent after collection
- Consider engaging a bin washing service if you find the bin continues to get a bit smelly (search online for options)
- Use fly spray or lavender, peppermint or eucalyptus oil to control flies