Food and garden organics bins
On this page:
Your food and garden organics bin is for food scraps and garden waste. It has a light green lid.
We collect your food and garden organics weekly, on the same day as your general rubbish, mixed recycling and glass recycling collection.
Our food and garden organics bins are also known as FOGO bins. They were previously called the green waste bin.
To find out when your FOGO collection day is, enter your address below.
Enter your address
How to use your food and garden organics bin
You can place food scraps and leftovers in this bin along with your garden waste.
To learn how to use the service and what happens to your food and garden organics (FOGO) waste, refer to our FOGO user guide or explore the information below.
What happens to my food and garden waste?
Your food and garden organics (FOGO) waste is a valuable resource. The FOGO waste that we collect is turned into compost, which is used to enrich the soil at farms, parks and gardens.
Collected FOGO waste goes to the Veolia organics processing facility in Bulla, Victoria, where it takes only six to ten days to be turned into soil conditioner and compost.
Watch our video below to learn more.
The Back to Earth Initiative has also created a video about the journey of FOGO waste. You can also find out more about what happens to FOGO waste on the Back to Earth website.
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The following items can go in your FOGO bin:
- food waste
- leaves, twigs and other garden waste
- grass clippings and weeds, including noxious weeds
Food waste includes:
- fruit and vegetable scraps
- citrus, onions and garlic
- meat, bones and seafood scraps
- coffee grounds and loose tea leaves
- egg shells
- dairy products
- bread, pasta and cereal
- meal leftovers
- paper towel or newspaper to line your kitchen caddy
Use our online A to Z guide to waste and recycling guide to find out how to recycle, reuse or safely dispose of a wide range of common household items that may not be listed here.
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The following items cannot go in your FOGO bin:
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compostable or biodegradable bags
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garden waste or food waste in plastic bags
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food packaging (including containers, cling wrap, ties and fruit stickers)
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coffee cups and plastic plates
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plant pots
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tree stumps, soil and ash
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vacuum dust and hair (including pet hair)
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kitty litter, dog or cat droppings
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nappies and baby wipes (even if labelled compostable)
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shredded paper (use this in your home compost bin or worm farm)
Putting incorrect items in your recycling bin is called contamination. Contamination can be a safety hazard and makes it harder to turn your recycling into new things. Find out more about contamination on our Recycle Right webpage.
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Our organics processor, Veolia, do not accept compostable bags of any type because they are a contamination risk if people use the wrong type of bag or put the wrong things inside.
The bags do not always breakdown fully in the rapid process used by Veolia, which means pieces of compostable bags can be seen in the compost and mulch products which is unwanted by farmers seeking high quality compost to use on their farms.
Bagged waste can also be a safety risk to people whose job it is to sort waste materials, particularly if incorrect or unsafe items are placed in the bag. In line with Veolia’s requirements, we ask that compostable bags are not used. Veolia service most Councils in the north-west region of Melbourne, so we are not alone in being not able to accept them.
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Food scraps can smell as they break down.
A few ways you can reduce the likelihood of your kitchen caddy smelling bad:
- Line your kitchen caddy with 1 to 2 layers of newspaper or paper towel
- Wrap smelly food scraps in newspaper or paper towel
- Empty your kitchen caddy into the FOGO bin every 2 to 3 days
- Keep your kitchen caddy closed and don't overfill it
- Wash your caddy regularly
- Sprinkle bicarb soda (baking soda) in your kitchen caddy to absorb the smell
A few ways you can reduce the likelihood of your FOGO bin smelling bad:
- Put scraps like prawn shells and meat in your freezer, and transfer them to your FOGO bin close to your collection day
- Layer your food scraps between your garden waste
- Line the bottom of your FOGO bin with dry garden waste, leaves or twigs to stop food scraps sticking to the bin
- Sprinkle bicarb soda (baking soda) in your FOGO bin to absorb the smell
- Keep your bin in the shade (where possible) and don't overfill it
- Wash your bin out from time to time with soap and a hose
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- If you already have a FOGO bin you can collect your complimentary caddy from a Customer Service Centre for a limited time.
- Households getting a new food and garden organics bin in June will have their kitchen caddy delivered separately in July and August
Damaged caddies will not be replaced by us. The caddy is a one-off complimentary item to support residents to use the service.
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Currently over 50% of Merri-bek's waste that goes to landfill is food organics. When this waste breaks down it creates methane gas. This is a powerful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. Our decision to change our green waste to FOGO bins was to reduce the amount of food organic waste in landfill.
Our food and garden organics (FOGO) service works alongside home composting. It is also an option for people that cannot or do not process their food scraps.
The food and garden organics that we collect is turned into compost, which is used to enrich the soil at farms, parks and gardens.
Food and garden organics bin collection
We collect your food and garden organics weekly, on the same day as your garbage and recycling collection.
Our FOGO bins have a light green lid and were previously called the green waste bin.
To find out when your FOGO collection day will be, enter your address below.
For a printed waste collection calendar, contact us on 9240 1111.
There is a waste management charge in your rates that covers FOGO collection. You can find out more about this on our Understanding your rates page. The charge also includes garbage, recycling, and hard waste collection.
Common questions about FOGO bins
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Put your bins out by 5:30am on your bin collection day. You can also put your bins out the night before.
Put your bin on the kerb at the edge of your street. Make sure the bin is facing the street and that there are no objects within 30cm (such as a car, tree or another bin).
Any waste left beside or on top of the bin will not be collected.
If your street is a court or cul-de-sac, place your bins along the straight part of the kerb.
Below are some diagrams that show this placement.
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If you don’t already have one, you can collect a complimentary kitchen caddy from a Customer Service Centre for a limited time.
Damaged caddies will not be replaced by us. The caddy is a one-off complimentary item to support residents to use the service.
Kitchen caddies are used to collect food scraps in your home, before putting in the FOGO bin.
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The available sizes for FOGO are 120 litres (standard) or 240 litres.
Go to our Bin repairs and replacements page for information about how to change your bin or get a new bin. This includes damaged bins, lost or stolen bins, changing your bin size or ordering a bin for your property.
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Learn more about reducing household waste, including avoiding food waste on our Reducing waste webpage.
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If you live in a unit, townhouse or apartment block and share bins with your neighbours, visit our Bins at units, townhouses and apartments webpage for tips on using shared bins.
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An annual waste charge is included on property rates notices each year. This charge recovers the full cost of delivering the kerbside waste collection service, including general rubbish, food and garden organics, mixed recycling, glass recycling and hard waste collections.
You can learn more about the waste charge on our Understand your rates and waste charge page.