Food Organics Garden Organics (FOGO)

From May this year each household with a Council FOGO service will be eligible to collect a free roll of 150 compostable liners (per calendar year). Liners can be collected from the Manningham Civic Centre or Manningham Depot Offices. You will be required to show proof of residency (rates notice or drivers licence) when collecting the liners.

If you can eat it or it grew in the ground it will be able to go in your green lid FOGO bin.

What can go in:

• fruit and vegetable scraps
• meat and bones (raw and cooked)
• eggs and dairy
• seafood
• bread, pasta, rice and cereal
• loose tea leaves and coffee grounds
• tissues, paper towel and shredded paper
• plate scrapings and leftovers
• grass clippings
• prunings
• weeds
• leaves
• garden waste

What cannot go in:

• tea bags
• plastic and biodegradable bags
• gardening items, plastic pots, garden hoses and tools
• animal waste including kitty litter
• clam and oyster shells
• liquids, fats, greases and oils
• soil, rocks or concrete
• vacuum dust
• plastic, glass or metal
• nappies, hygiene products or baby wipes
• treated or painted timber and building materials
• food packaging, rubber bands, cling wrap, foil, polystyrene and fruit and vegetable stickers.
   

For further information we have a comprehensive A to Z guide available. 

The food and garden waste collected from Manningham households will be sent to the Bio Gro organics facility where it will be transformed into high-grade compost. The compost will be used in farms across Victoria.

Firstly, well done for composting at home. You can keep composting as the FOGO service can complement your existing efforts. You can place certain items into your FOGO bin that some home composting systems can't accept such as cooked foods, meat, bones, dairy and citrus. 

If you don't have a compost bin, we offer a range of discounted composting products through Compost Community. 

The FOGO service is one of the simplest ways we can all reduce carbon emissions and achieve our state-wide goal of halving the amount of waste that is sent to landfill by 2030. In landfill, food waste creates methane, a harmful greenhouse gas emission that contributes to climate change.

Before the introduction of FOGO, 56 per cent of waste found in the average red lid garbage bin in Manningham was food waste. The FOGO service will divert waste from landfill and instead create compost.

The compost created from Manningham’s food and garden waste will be transformed into high-grade compost for parks and gardens. This compost is also used to support farms across Victoria.

FOGO is a state-wide initiative that will see all Victorian Councils introduce a FOGO service by 2030 as outlined in the State Government's Recycling Victoria Policy. 

Yes, you can upgrade a standard size 80L red lid garbage bin to a larger size 120L red lid garbage bin. Find out more about swapping the size of your bins.

If a 120L red lid garbage bin is not large enough to suit your household’s waste needs, you will be able to apply to upgrade your bin to a 240L red lid garbage bin.

A one-off administration and delivery fee will be payable if you choose to upgrade your red lid bin.

Households with children in nappies

Households who have two children under the age of four in daytime nappies are eligible to apply for a discounted larger 240L garbage bin. You can apply by completing an application form to assess your eligibility. 

Yes, only food and garden waste can be placed into your FOGO bin.

Food packaging including stickers, rubber bands, plastic containers, tins, plastic bags or plastic wrapping cannot be placed into your FOGO bin.

Use your kitchen caddy and roll of 150 compostable liners that Council has provided. 

It's best to keep your kitchen caddy handy as you prepare food so that you can easily place your food scraps into your kitchen caddy. When full, twist your compostable liner closed and put it back into your kitchen caddy. Carry both out to your FOGO bin then open the lid, take the compostable liner out and drop it into your FOGO bin.

We have a series of FOGO instructional videos that cover:

• How to get started and use your FOGO kitchen caddy.
• What can go into your FOGO bin.
• Tips for keeping your kitchen caddy clean and minimising smells. 

Here are some tips to reduce odours for your green lid FOGO bin:

• place food waste in a compostable liner bag or wrap in newspaper

• try alternating layers of food waste with garden waste, like lawn clippings or dry leaves

• wrap up food waste like prawn shells, seafood and uncooked meat scraps and store them in the freezer until closer to collection day

• store your bins in a shady, flat and well-ventilated area

• rinse your bins occasionally, and always keep the lid closed

• sprinkle some bicarb soda in the bin to neutralize smells.

Not all liners are the same. Some compostable liners take longer (and require different conditions) to break down. Any liners that are not lime green, or don't meet the required AS4736 standards will be considered contamination and may result in your FOGO bin not being emptied.

Compostable liners sold at supermarkets cannot be used in our FOGO bins. They are not lime green and may be mistaken as contamination.

No, you can use any container to collect your food scraps and take these to your green lid FOGO bin.

You can collect and place food scraps into your green lid bin loose or wrapped in newspaper or paper towel.

Please note you cannot use plastic or biodegradable bags, only compostable liners with the certified compostable symbol are able to be placed into your green lid FOGO bin.