FOGO FAQs

All organic material goes in the FOGO bin. This includes:

• Food organics like fruit and vegetable scraps, citrus, meat, bones, seafood, dairy, bakery products, egg shells, grains and cereals, mouldy and expired food, tea leaves and coffee grounds.
• Garden organics like lawn clippings, leaves, twigs, small branches, weeds, and flowers.
• Other organics like compostable caddy liners (supplied by Council), and small amounts of tissues, paper towel, pet poo, and shredded paper.

 SCRRApp, the Surf Coast Rubbish and Recycling App, makes it easy to see what goes in each bin.

See a list of what goes in the FOGO bin

Organic waste can be prone to odours in high temperatures, during the festive season or if the bin lid is not completely closed.

Here are some tips to help reduce the chance of odour:

• Tie smellier foods up in the compostable liners provided by council
• Wrap large or particularly smelly organics in newspaper, or keep them in the freezer until bin night.
• Mix garden cuttings in with food waste
• Make sure the lid closes properly
• If your bin or lid is cracked or broken, contact us to let us know
• Keep your kerbside bin in the shade
• Keep your kitchen caddy out of direct sunlight.
• Put it out each collection day, even if it isn’t full.
• If it becomes an issue, you can sprinkle vinegar, bi-carb soda, charcoal or eucalyptus oil in your organics bin or kitchen caddy to absorb and dissipate odours.
• Wash/hose your bin out occasionally.

If you do see evidence of maggots, kill them with a small amount of boiling water or a vinegar solution, and rinse out your bin after it's collected.

Make sure you wrap smellier food in the provided compostable bags and keep the lid of your wheelie bin closed tightly to help keep vermin and maggots from getting into your bins.

You sure can.

There is no cost to downsize bins.

If you would like an extra FOGO bin there is a yearly fee.

If you would like a larger FOGO bin there is a once-off fee.

View the form and costs

For urban or township properties

• Organics (green waste) bins are collected weekly.
• Landfill (general waste) bins are collected fortnightly alternating with recycling.
• Recycling (yellow lidded) bins are collected fortnightly alternating with landfill.
• The glass (purple lidded) bins are collected every four weeks alongside every other recycling collection.

For rural properties

• Organics (green waste) bins are collected fortnightly.
• Landfill (general waste) bins are collected fortnightly.
• Recycling (yellow lidded) bins are collected fortnightly.
• The glass (purple lidded) bins are collected every four weeks.

Download SCRRApp, the Surf Coast Rubbish and Recycling App, or your collection calendar for details on when your bins are collected.

The liners are certified commercially compostable and made from corn, which is safe to compost and will not contaminate the food and garden organics collection.

Using the liners is optional, but you must only use those supplied by Council, or the following brands:

• Cardia (supplied by Council)
• Compost-a-pak
• Biotuff

Other bags, including plastic, degradable, or biodegradable bags, must not be used as they will contaminate the collection of organic material. When we find other brands that meet the correct standard we will update the list above.

Corio Waste Management processes the organics at their facility in Shepparton where they turn your organic waste into high quality compost and mulch products that meet Australian Standards. These products are used in commercial landscaping and agriculture.

Council undertook a full public tender process to procure a licensed organics processor.

The Western Composting Technology facility in Shepparton is managed by our local organics contractor, Corio Waste, which is based in Moolap. The organic waste collected from households is transported to Shepparton in bulk hauls (full trucks) to limit the environmental impacts related to transporting it.

It's more likely that new, local processing facilities will be built as the volume of organic waste collected in our region increases.

Great! You will find this compliments your system because you can use your kerbside organics bin for things you might avoid putting in your compost or worm farm, like:

• dairy
• meat
• bones
• bread
• grains
• citrus
• kitchen oils
• pet poo

The FOGO bin is for typical residential organic waste.

If you have the occasional small dead animal like a mouse or bird, wrap it in newspaper and put it in.

Cats and dogs or livestock are too big and should not be put in the FOGO bin. Bury them on your property or contact a vet or knacker to help you with removal and disposal.

On average in our shire, 40% of what went into household landfill (general waste) bins was organic, and most of that organic waste was from the kitchen. When food waste ends up in landfill it creates methane, a greenhouse gas much more potent than carbon dioxide.

Having a FOGO service means you put all food waste in the green bin with your garden clippings. Then we take it to an industrial processor who will compost the organic matter.

This means less waste will be sent to landfill, and the food will be turned into a resource – compost – that will be used by farmers.

The kerbside service is designed for typical residential waste collection, and household rubbish generated by rural residents shouldn’t differ too much from that of an urban household.

If you are running a farm or agricultural business that produces more waste than the standard kerbside service accepts, consider a second/larger landfill bin, or opting out of the service altogether and managing your own waste.

Rural residents have a choice

Residents of properties that are classified as rural have a choice of whether or not to use Council's kerbside waste collection service.

If you choose to use Council's service, you will use the four bin system.

While many rural households manage most of their organics at home, Council’s FOGO service accepts items you wouldn’t put in home compost or give to your chickens like avocado stones, spicy leftovers, onions, citrus, rotten food and more. These things should not be in the landfill bin anymore.

If you choose not to use Council's service, you will need to manage your own waste.

Ways to do this include:

• Compost your own food and garden organics on your property.
• Feed food waste to pets or livestock.
• Engage a private company to collect your waste.
• Take your waste to the transfer station yourself.