About 40% of all the general waste produced by our households is food waste. If that food waste is placed in the red lid bin and sent to landfill it degrades and generates greenhouse gases. In fact, food organics and garden organics (FOGO) can be a beneficial resource, if collected and processed appropriately it can be turned into compost to be used in farms, gardens, parks and sportsfields. FOGO has huge environmental benefits and helps to support farming and to maintain our beautiful suburbs, parks and reserves for everyone to enjoy.

Food waste degrades in landfills and produces harmful greenhouse gases like methane which is 25 times stronger than CO2. Food and green waste also takes up valuable landfill space and wastes something that has a clear beneficial use.

When FOGO waste is collected separately, FOGO can be processed into compost that can be used for food production, parks and sportsfields.

By sending our food scraps to FOGO, we are able to:

• Save landfill space
• Reduce methane gas emissions
• Give back to the earth by producing a nutrient-rich compost
• Help reduce our environmental footprint
• Turn a waste into a resource

Let's contribute to a greener future by simply throwing our food scraps into the green bin!

There are a number of options for how FOGO is managed and processed. In a simple process, FOGO is collected and taken to a processing facility where the materials are shredded and placed in large piles. The material in piles are mixed and aerated regularly. Microorganisms, like bacteria and fungi, are naturally present in this FOGO material. These organisms eat this nutrient-rich material. After a period of time, all that organic waste is broken down into a nutrient-rich, soil-like substance called compost.

A FOGO bin can be used for items that you might not currently compost, such as dairy, bones, meat/fish scraps and weeds. It can also be used to dispose of grass clippings and other green waste that can reduce or eliminate the need to transport this to a Waste Transfer Station.

A kitchen caddy is a small container that Council can provide to you and is designed to be placed on your kitchen benchtop. This means you can easily put in food scraps during meal preparation and any leftover scraps when cleaning up after your meal. Once the caddy is full, empty it into a large green-lid FOGO bin, put a new liner in the caddy and start collecting food waste again!