How to use your bins

Food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bin

Our FOGO bins are dark green with a lime green lid.

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

kerbside organic waste bin with lime-green lid

What goes 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.

Using your FOGO caddy

You can use your FOGO caddy (the small kitchen FOGO bin) to collect food waste before placing in the larger FOGO bin.

You can use no caddy liner, or line it with:

an accepted AS4736-certfified compostable liner
a paper bag
newspaper
paper towel.

FOGO caddy liners

If you use a caddy liner it must:

be labelled as 'compostable'
be made from 100% corn starch
display both AS5810 and AS4736 codes.

Logos for Home Compostable AS 5810 ABAX 9999 liners and Compostable AS 4736 ABAX 9999

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

You can pick up caddy liners at these Council locations:

Customer Service Counter at 8 Inglesby Road, Camberwell
Hawthorn Library at 584 Glenferrie Road, 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
Greythorn Community Hub Library Lounge at 2 Centre Way, Balwyn North (until 31 May)
Boroondara Sports Complex at 271C Belmore Rd, Balwyn North (from 1 June).

Recycling bin

Our recycling bins are blue with a yellow lid and we are transitioning to bins with dark green bodies and a yellow lid. Read about why we are changing our bin colours.

What goes in the recycling bin

The only items that can be placed in the recycling bin are:

plastic bottles like milk, juice and sauce bottles (leave lids on)
hard plastic containers like margarine tubs, biscuit trays, punnets, yoghurt pots and takeaway containers
glass jars and bottles (leave lids and labels on)
paper, newspapers, magazines and junk mail
cardboard and cereal boxes
steel tins
aluminium cans and foil
empty aerosol cans.

Make sure items are loose (not in bags) and empty.

What can't go in the recycling bin

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

bagged recycling
food and garden waste
polystyrene packaging, cups and meat trays
textiles and clothing
ceramic plates, cups and crockery
plastic bags and soft plastic wrappings. We are temporarily accepting soft plastics for recycling from Boroondara residents at 2 collection points. To find out more, visit our Temporary soft plastic recycling service page.

Use our comprehensive A to Z recycling and waste guide to find out how to recycle or dispose of items that can't be placed in your recycling bin.

Check the Australasian Recycling Label (ARL)

Look for the Australasian Recycling Label, now found on the back of most supermarket items.

These labels provide easy-to-understand information about what can be recycled.

The label will tell you where each piece of packaging from an item should go; for example the lid, the wrapper and the container.

Plastic codes

The triangle symbol on the back of packaging only tells you the type of plastic it is. It doesn’t indicate whether the packaging is recyclable. Please don’t use these codes as a recycling guide.

Contaminated recycling bins

Contaminated recycling can lead to an entire truck load of recycling being sent to landfill.

If you put items in your recycling bin that are not accepted, your bin may be tagged with information and advice on how to correctly dispose of the contaminating items.

If you continue to put items in your recycling bin that are not accepted, it may result in your bin not being emptied.

By recycling correctly, you help to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill and contribute to a circular economy. Materials collected in recycling bins are processed into new packaging and building materials.

Household waste bin

Our household waste bins are green with a dark green lid and we are transitioning to bins that are green with a red lid. Read about why we are changing our bin colours.