Your FOGO bin
Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) can be placed in your lime green lid bin. All organics collected through this service will be turned into high quality compost at Green Care Mulching.
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Your FOGO bin collection
Your FOGO bin is collected fortnightly.
Search your address to see your next bin collection
View the yearly Digital Waste Collection Calendar
where you can:
- Add your address and see your yearly waste calendar
- Create a printable pdf
What can go in your FOGO bin
- Fruit and vegetable scraps
- Raw and cooked meat and bones
- Citrus, eggshells and leftovers
- Dairy products including yoghurt
- Seafood and shellfish shells
- Coffee grounds
- Grass clippings
- Leaves and branches
- Weeds and flowers
- Paper towel
- Tissues
- Newspapers
What can't go in your FOGO bin
- Building materials
- Glass
- Tree stumps
- Large branches
- Soil/rocks/rubble
- Nappies
- Wet wipes
- Coffee pods
- Tea bags
- Liquids
- Metal or tin
- Plastic bags
- Plant pots and containers
- Pet waste or kitty litter
- Food packaging
- Cling wrap
- Stickers or rubber bands
Frequently asked questions
What is the process of turning FOGO into compost?
The content of your FOGO bin is collected fortnightly and sent to Green Care Mulching, where the food and garden waste is processed into high-quality compost.
Once collected, the food scraps and garden clippings are sorted, shredded and placed in large composting windrows.
These are carefully monitored and turned to encourage natural microbial activity. After curing and screening, the waste becomes a rich compost that can be used on gardens.
The processing gives the organic material a second life and returns valuable nutrients to the soil.
What are the benefits of FOGO?
A FOGO service offers several benefits, primarily related to environmental sustainability and resource recovery. These benefits include:
- Reducing landfill waste
- Minimising methane emissions from decomposing matter in landfills and
- Using the material to create compost.
The service should also lead to cost savings for the City of Ballarat and ratepayers, as sending less waste to landfill will mean reduced landfill fees and transport costs.
How can I reduce bin odours?
Here are a few simple tips and tricks to help manage your FOGO bin. Where possible:
- Use compostable caddy liners
- Keep your bin in a shaded area out of the sun
- Keep you bin lid closed
- Wash your kitchen caddy and bin regularly
- Place grass clippings or garden prunings at the base of your FOGO bin and in layers with food scraps
- Refrigerate or freeze foods until bin night – like meat and seafood
- Sprinkle some bi-carb soda in your kitchen caddy or FOGO bin to absorb any odours.
I don’t have a lime green lid bin or kitchen caddy, what should I do?
If your property does not have a green bin (or kitchen caddy) please let us know:
Call the Customer Service team on 5320 5500 or fill out the form:
Request a new bin for your property
The City of Ballarat supplies bins to each property as part of our waste collection service. Bins are not delivered to a property unless it is occupied to prevent bins being stolen. The bins provided must stay at the property if you move house.
While you wait for it to arrive, you may like to use a container to collect kitchen scraps e.g. ice cream container or bowl.
I have run out of compostable bin liners, where do I get more?
You can buy further compostable liners from the supermarket.
Please check to make sure they meet AS4736 standards - To check if something meets AS4736, look for the seedling logo on the product, which indicates certification for industrial composting.
What if I already compost at home?
Home composting is a great sustainable option for recycling organic material.
You can still compost at home and use your FOGO bin for items that may not be suitable for your home composting system such as citrus, meat and bones along with excess garden organics.
Can I opt out of the FOGO service?
If you currently have a residential waste collection service, you can’t opt out.
Providing a FOGO service is mandated by the Victorian Government by 2027 and it is viewed as an essential service.
It also isn’t feasible to allow some households to opt out as this would lead to greater costs for ratepayers and for Council to subsidise your service removal through a redistribution of costs.