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                    Food and garden organics service

                    FOGO (food organics garden organics), our food and garden organics service is part of our commitment to improve waste and recycling services and reduce the amount of household waste going to landfill.

                    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ Food scraps, paper towel and leaves can go in the new food and garden waste bins.

                    ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​More than 2300 tonnes of food and garden organics have already been collected and converted into compost and organic fertiliser to be used on farms and our parks, gardens and sporting fields, creating a circular economy. 

                    Phase one of the r​​oll out began in June 2021 for ​s​ingle unit dwelling​s, followed by multi-unit dwellings up to five storeys. A pilot is currently underway for high-rise residential apartments.

                    See how the service works in the following video.

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                    See where your food and garden organics end up after we collect them.

                    Single-unit dwellings

                    Single-unit dwellings include single houses on a single block. All single-unit dwellings should have their own lime green lid FOGO bin and weekly collection service.  

                    How to get started

                    If you’re a new resident and don’t yet have a kitchen caddy, you can order a free Starter Pack​​ (including a kitchen caddy and roll of liners) to be delivered by our team.

                    Use the caddy to collect food scraps. When full, empty the caddy into your food and garden organics bin (don’t tie a knot) and place out for collection on your weekly collection day.

                    How to replenish your liners

                    We will provide a new supply of liners each year. These will usually be delivered between October to December. ​

                    If you have exhausted your allocation of liners you can continue using the caddy without a liner (we suggest it’s emptied regularly and given a quick rinse to reduce odours). If you would prefer to purchase liners, we are currently only able to recommend purchasing online via ​COMPOST-A-PAK.

                    Liner update: February 2024. All single-unit dwellings with a food and garden organics service should have received a fresh roll of liners over the last few weeks.​ If you have not received a roll of liners, please let us know​.

                    ​NOTE: Multi-unit dwellings (up to five storeys) are required to order liners online or collect from a location listed below.

                    Multi-unit dwellings (up to five storeys) update

                    Multi-unit dwellings include flats, units, townhouses and apartments. Some multi-unit dwellings share lime green lid FOGO bins, others have their own lime green lid FOGO bin. 

                    Ordering your starter pack

                    If you’re a new resident and don’t yet have a kitchen caddy, you can  register online and collect your free Starter Pack (including a kitchen caddy and roll of liners) or have it delivered for a $10 postage fee.

                    After registering online, residents can collect their Starter Pack from one of the following locations:

                    • Kathleen Symes Library
                    • Melbourne Town Hall
                    • Kensington Town Hall.

                    Use the caddy to collect food scraps. When full, empty the caddy into your food and garden organics bin (don’t tie a knot) 

                    How to replenish your liners

                    Each property is entitled to order one free roll of liners per calendar year.

                    Due to complexities with delivery and building access of many multi-unit dwellings, liners must be ordered online via COMPOST-A-PAK. They can be collected for free or delivered for a $10 postage fee.

                    After registering online, residents can collect their liners from one of the following locations:

                    • Kathleen Symes Library
                    • Melbourne Town Hall
                    • Kensington Town Hall.​

                    High-rise apartments (six storeys or higher) 

                    We are rolling out the Food Organics Service to high-rise residential apartments across Melbourne.

                    Selected buildings are undertaking a 12-month pilot program to collect and process food scraps using an on-site organic processor. For more information on the pilot, visit Food Organics High-Rise Pilot.​

                    2022-2023 waste collection calendar

                    The new 2022-2023 recycling calendars are now available to download below. Hard copies are also available to collect from:

                    Customer Service Centre at Melbourne Town Hall
                    120 Swanston Street, Melbourne
                    8.30am to 5pm, Monday to Friday (public holidays excluded)

                    Did you know?
                    Forty-five per cent of the average household bin in the City of Melbourne is made up of food and garden (organic) waste. This waste ends up in landfill, which produces methane gas, odour and contributes to climate change.

                    Related waste programs

                    Bin inspection program – bin tags

                    To help reduce waste contamination, we’d like to help educate residents on what can and can’t go into our bins.

                    Some residents may start to see bright coloured bin tags appearing on their bins over the coming weeks:

                    • Green: Well done, you’re a waste champion
                    • Orange: Nearly there, at least one of your items should not be in your food and garden waste bin
                    • Red: Your bin has many items that should not be there and will need to go to landfill. Call us to talk with one of our food and garden waste experts or refer to our website for what can and cannot go into your bin.

                    The tags are designed to help us all to reduce contamination in our organic recycling and reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

                    Green bin tag attached to a recycling bin. The tag says 'Well done. Thank you for recycling correctly' and has a smiley face.


                    Melbourne high-rise plan for a food waste collection service

                    High-rise buildings in Melbourne can provide some of the most complex challenges in food organics collection. Expressions of interest are now open for a pilot program to divert food organic waste from landfill using innovative technology.

                    To find out more and how to get involved, visit Food organics high-rise pilot EOI.

                    Frequently asked questions

                    How do I use my kitchen caddy?

                    Your kitchen caddy is used to collect and transfer food scraps to your lime-green lid bin for collection.

                    You can use the caddy with a council supplied liner bag or without.

                    Important: Please do not tie a knot in your liner bag.

                    What goes in the food and garden waste bin?

                    Food:

                    • fruit and vegetable scraps (including citrus, onion, garlic, herbs, spices)
                    • bread, rice and pasta
                    • leftover food scraps
                    • spoiled or rotten food 
                    • solid dairy products (butter, cheese)
                    • meat, fish and bones
                    • soft shell seafood (prawns, shrimps, crayfish, lobster)
                    • loose coffee grounds 
                    • loose tea leaves 
                    • eggshells
                    • jelly

                    Garden:

                    • garden cuttings (twigs, branches - cut to fit neatly in the bin) 
                    • weeds
                    • grass cuttings and leaves
                    • cut flowers
                    • straw and hay
                    Tip: Please keep garden waste loose, not bagged

                    Other items:

                    • wooden icy pole sticks, wooden chopsticks, toothpicks, skewers (no plastics)
                    • human hair and animal hair
                    • dryer lint

                    What doesn’t go in food and garden waste bin?

                    If your food and garden waste bin contains items that we cannot process, it could result in the entire truckload going to landfill.

                    Do not put these things into your lime green-lid food and garden waste bin:

                    • plastic or plastic bags
                    • biodegradable or compostable bags and packaging (only use council approved caddy liners)
                    • tea bags
                    • coffee pods, compostable cups and coffee cups (including biodegradable marked items)
                    • liquids including cooking oil
                    • hard seafood shells (mussels, oyster, pipi shells, large crab)
                    • recyclables (paper, cardboard, aluminium, steel and glass items)
                    • soft plastics (cling wrap, chip packets)
                    • bricks and building rubble
                    • treated and painted timber, treated lattice, other timber building materials 
                    • rocks and pebbles
                    • garden hoses
                    • string, twine, ties, rope, metal wire
                    • plant pots 
                    • cotton wool, cotton wool buds
                    • pet poo or pet litter
                    • vacuum dust 
                    • ash (from home fire)
                    • cigarette butts
                    • toys.
                    To find out how you can recycle or dispose of these and other items, refer to our A-Z guide to recycling and waste disposal.

                    How do I use the kitchen caddy liners?

                    Important: Please do not tie a knot in your liner bag.

                    ​It is important to use the council-approved compostable liners as this type of bag will break down during the composting process.

                    Using the wrong type of compostable liner can create contamination and result in the food and garden waste being sent to landfill.

                    Plastic kitchen caddy

                    Compostable bags are made from plant based material. They are suitable for the special microbial treatment process that we will use to recycle your food scraps. 

                    Plastic, degradable and biodegradable bags must not be placed into your food scraps bin. They can contain plastic and heavy metals that are not suitable for composting or microbial treatment. 

                    You may also use newspaper to wrap dry food scraps such as potato and onion peelings.

                    Your council-approved liners should last you until your next batch is delivered. It is recommend to use two to four liners per week if possible. This will ensure your liners last until your next free batch arrives. If you do run out before your next batch arrives, you can purchase a roll of council-approved liners:

                    Remember, only food waste needs to go in your liners. All garden waste can go directly into the bin without the use of a liner or bag.

                    What are the details of the kitchen caddy?

                    The caddy is made from 100% recycled plastic in Melbourne, Victoria.

                    Plastic kitchen caddy

                    Kitchen caddy dimensions are as follows:

                    • Volume: 7 litres
                    • Height: 235mm
                    • Width: 225mm
                    • Depth: 225mm

                    How do I obtain additional caddy liners?

                    Your council-approved liners should last you until your next batch is delivered. It is recommend to use two to four liners per week if possible. This will ensure your liners last until your next free batch arrives. If you do run out before your next batch arrives, you can purchase a roll of council-approved liners:

                    The use of non-approved liners may result in a non-collection notice. 

                    Why has City of Melbourne introduced this service?

                    We know that 40 to 50 per cent of waste found in our average landfill bins are made up of food and garden waste. 

                    By recycling your food and garden waste in the lime green bin, you can help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases generated and contribute to the creation of nutrient-rich compost. 

                    Recycling food and garden waste helps reduce the amount of waste that goes to landfill and turns it into a valuable resource for Victorian farmers and parks and gardens around Melbourne. 

                    What happens to the food and garden waste after it is collected?

                    ​Your food and garden waste is taken to a purpose-built local composting facility, where it undergoes some very specific processing. 

                    The materials are processed into mulch and nutrient-rich compost that improves soil health, fertility and productivity and can be used on Victorian farms and our parks and gardens.

                    What if I already compost at home, or am part of a composting community?

                    ​Excellent! Thank you for doing this – please keep up the great work. 

                    The new food and garden waste bin can complement your current composting/worm farming by taking the meat, bones and dairy products that cannot go into a compost bin. This will help you to divert all your food waste and garden waste material away from landfill. 

                    I’m a business owner. Will my business receive the new service?

                    ​Businesses in the City of Melbourne are responsible for the implementation and collection of business waste. 

                    We can provide advice and suggestions on waste management practices that can be implemented for businesses. If you would like further information, see Waste and recycling for businesses or you can contact us on 03 9658 9658. 

                    I'm a resident in a low-rise (up to five storeys) apartment building. Why do I have to pay a $10 postage fee to get a caddy and liner delivered but a single dwelling doesn’t?

                    ​Delivery drivers often have difficulty accessing low-rise apartment buildings and, in most cases, there is nowhere safe to leave packages if no one is home. The $10 postage fee covers the cost of a postage provider such as Australia Post or Star Track and if you’re not home, will ensure you receive a collection card, to collect your caddy from a local post office.

                    We recently asked our residents to have their say on the new service. Here’s what we heard:

                    'Excellent service – very convenient and it has reduced our general garbage to almost nothing. Love it!'

                    'The Green Waste project has had a real positive effect on me and our household. Firstly, it has given me an opportunity to help the environment, not always easy living in the CBD. By removing organic waste and its associated odours, from our normal kitchen bin, it has made my life better. This is a great initiative which I fully support. Thank you.'

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