How to use your FOGO bin

FOGO bin

Our FOGO bins are dark green with a lime green lid. They're collected weekly.

Use the FOGO bin for your food and garden waste. We collect it and turn it into compost to be used on farms, parks and gardens.

What can go in the FOGO bin

Most food waste such as fruit, vegetables, dairy products, eggshells, spoiled food, loose tea leaves and coffee grounds.
Most garden waste such as leaves, lawn clippings, weeds and small twigs and branches (up to 75 mm in diameter). Don't put garden waste in a bag.
Most dirty or wet cardboard and paper, such as newspaper and tissues.

What can't go in the FOGO bin

These are the top items that can't go in the FOGO bin:

tea bags
any kind of plastic
nappies
pet poo
stickers on fruits and vegetables.

For a full list of items we do and don't collect in your FOGO bin, check our A to Z recycling and waste guide.

FOGO caddy

Your FOGO caddy (a small kitchen caddy) makes it easy to collect food waste in your kitchen and then empty it into your FOGO bin.

It's not necessary to line your FOGO caddy. But if you choose to, you can line it with:

a paper bag
a newspaper
paper towels
an accepted, certified caddy liner, which:
- must be labelled as 'compostable'
- must be made from 100% corn starch
- displays both AS5810 and AS4736 codes.

FOGO liners

Some examples of accepted liners include:

8 L Compost-A-Pak liners
BioBag 8 L rolls
Maze 9 L Slim Compostable Bags
Multix Greener Mini Plant Based Compostable Bags
Cardia Compostable 8 L Kitchen Tidy Bags.
Council-supplied caddy liners, which you can pick up at these locations:
- Customer Service Counter at 8 Inglesby Road, Camberwell
- Boroondara Sports Complex, 271C Belmore Road Balwyn North
- Hawthorn Aquatic & Leisure Centre, 1 Grace Street Hawthorn
- Ashburton Pool and Recreation Centre at 8 Warner Avenue, Ashburton
- Kew Library at corner of Cotham Road and Civic Drive, Kew
- Surrey Hills Neighbourhood Centre at 157 Union Road, Surrey Hills.

Waste charges for ratepayers

Each property that pays rates pays a yearly Waste Environment Levy. This covers our costs for providing waste services, including:

Weekly FOGO and recycling collection
Fortnightly general waste collection
Weekly commercial waste collection
Twice-yearly hard waste collection
Twice-yearly bundled green waste collection
Yearly Christmas tree collection
Emptying rubbish bins in parks, shopping precincts and public spaces
Operating the team that carries out these services
Running the transfer station
Transporting waste to landfill
Disposal costs and levies at the landfill site.

Properties that only have a recycling bin (no general waste bin) are charged the minimum waste bin levy.

Residents in multi-unit developments with shared bins pay a waste charge based on how many bins are at the property.

Residential properties that cancel their bin service, as well as commercial and residential properties with a private waste collection, aren’t exempt from the Waste Environment Levy.

Bin collection

Collection times

Collections start from 5:00 am on main roads and 6:00 am for residential streets, in line with EPA guidelines.

Collections may start earlier on residential streets when we're aware of major works (like gas works or road resealing) that limit street access, but only as a last resort.