Food organics and garden organics (FOGO) pilot
FOGO stands for Food Organics and Garden Organics.
Households that are part of the ACT FOGO pilot can dispose of food scraps in their green-lidded bin along with garden waste.
ACT FOGO pilot
Currently over 6,000 households in the suburbs of Belconnen (town centre), Bruce, Cook, Macquarie and selected apartments in Tuggeranong are included in the program.
Only residents in the FOGO pilot areas can put food waste in their green-lidded bins. For information on the ACT’s standard green garden waste collection service, visit the green garden waste page.
If you have recently moved into a FOGO pilot suburb, contact us at fogo@act.gov.au to get a welcome pack. The pack includes everything you need to get started with FOGO.
A city-wide FOGO collection service is subject to further government decision-making and will require a large-scale FOGO processing facility to be built.
What can and can't go in your FOGO bin
Find out what you can and can't put in your bins.
What goes in your FOGO bin
What goes in your FOGO bin
The FOGO bin is for food scraps and garden waste, such as:
- Leftovers and cooked food
- Dairy products and eggs
- Fruit and vegetable scraps (stickers removed)
- Meat, seafood and bones (no oyster shells)
- Bread, grains and cereals
- Coffee grounds and tea leaves
- Certified compostable liners*
- Grass clippings and weeds
- Flowers and leaves
- Prunings and small branches (maximum of 45cm long and 10cm in diameter)
*Only compostable caddy liners that meet the AS 5810 Australian compostable standard can be used in FOGO bins. No other compostable products can be placed in the FOGO bin.
What doesn’t go in your FOGO bin
What doesn’t go in your FOGO bin
The following items do not belong in your FOGO bin:
- Plastic bags
- Compostable items (excepted certified liners)
- Oyster shells
- Tea bags
- Animal droppings
- Kitty litter and animal bedding
- Hair
- Paper, tissues and paper towels
- Biodegradable products or bags
- Sanitary products or nappies
- Vacuum dust
- Treated and painted timber
- Building products
- Metals
- Glass
- Textiles and clothing
How to use FOGO
- Collect all of your food scraps in a caddy or container. You can line your caddy with a certified compostable liner or tip the food in loose.
- Once full, empty into your large FOGO bin along with your garden waste.
FOGO caddy liners
Caddy liners are optional. If you choose to use them, they must meet the AS 5810 compostable standard. Please do not use plastic and biodegradable liners as they contaminate the compost.
You can buy extra caddy liners from the supermarket or order them from the ACT Government. Check for the home compostable symbol (PNG 56.3 KB) before you buy.
Tip: Instead of using kitchen caddy liners you can tip loose food scraps directly into your FOGO bin.
Households in the pilot receive a free FOGO caddy and supply of FOGO caddy liners.
Kitchen caddies are used to store food scraps and are dishwasher safe. They can be emptied into the FOGO bin along with garden waste.
Tips for minimising odour and pests
Following these few handy tips will help minimise odour in your FOGO bin:
- Keep your caddy closed.
- Wash your caddy regularly (it’s dishwasher safe).
- Put your FOGO bin out every week, even if it is not full.
- Put scraps like meat and seafood bones in the freezer until just before collection, to help keep it odour free.
- Use a sprinkling of bicarbonate soda to deodorise your bin.
- Hose your bin out regularly and let it dry completely.
- If possible, keep your bin in the shade.
What happens to your FOGO waste
FOGO waste in the ACT is processed at Corkhill Bros at the Resource Management Centre Mugga Lane using a method known as aerated static pile composting. The FOGO material is placed in an enclosed area where temperature, moisture and aeration are actively controlled. This helps stop odours escaping and accelerates the composting process. Next, the compost material is moved into long rows outdoors for approximately 5 weeks where the compost matures. The process takes around 8 weeks before the FOGO material is ready to be used.
Corkhill Bros uses the FOGO material in their compost and soil conditioners.
FOGO in apartments and townhouses
More than 2,000 households in apartments or townhouses are participating in the FOGO pilot. These buildings have FOGO bins alongside their standard recycling and general waste bins in shared waste areas.
At this stage, we are not enrolling new apartments or townhouses into the FOGO pilot. If you wish to add your apartment building to our waitlist, please send your expression of interest with current building management contact details and address to fogo@act.gov.au
Building management representing apartments in the FOGO pilot can contact us to:
- modify the number of FOGO bins
- change strata management contact details
- request support with the service.
If you need more assistance, please contact us at fogo@act.gov.au
If you don’t have FOGO
If you would like to reduce your food waste, but FOGO isn’t available in your suburb, you can try composting at home.
