Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO)

Waverley Council is currently trialling a Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) service with selected residents. Households have been asked to put food in the green bin alongside their garden organics, instead of the red bin. With this change, residents are helping turn food scraps into compost, which can be used by farmers in NSW.

Who is in the trial?

Around 2,000 households in Bondi, North Bondi, Rose Bay and Bronte have been included in the trial. If you have not been notified directly, your household will not be involved in the trial.

Right now, we're only offering the FOGO service to households within the trial area, but eventually it will be expanded. To register your interest in the FOGO trial or submit feedback, please visit our Have Your Say page.

Why is Waverley Council doing a FOGO trial?

A kerbside bin audit across the Waverley Local Government Area in 2023 revealed that food waste makes up nearly 40% of a typical red garbage bin. Food waste takes up limited landfill space and creates harmful greenhouse gases when it breaks down.

By 2030, all councils across New South Wales must provide a FOGO service, as outlined in the NSW Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041. Therefore, please be aware that for streets included in the trial, FOGO will be a permanent service. The insights gathered during the trial will guide us in expanding FOGO to all Waverley residents.

Getting started

  • All residents in the trial area are being provided with a kitchen caddy, compostable liners and a green-lid wheelie bin  , which replaces the garden organics bin.
  • If your household is part of the FOGO trial but you have not been provided with the above resources, email fogo@waverley.nsw.gov.au.
  • If you need more compostable liners, email us or collect some any time from the Customer Service Centre in Bondi Junction.

Frequently Asked Questions

Simply line your kitchen caddy using compostable liners, then start putting your food scraps in the caddy. Once full or before your collection day, empty it into the FOGO wheelie bin. The green-lid wheelie bin is collected weekly, on the same day as the red bin.

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Yes, please!

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps (stickers removed)
  • Cooked food (including expired food)
  • Leftover food (no containers)
  • Meat, seafood & bones
  • Dairy & eggs (including eggshells)
  • Bread, cereals, rice & pasta
  • Coffee grounds & loose-leaf tea
  • Small branches & garden cuttings
  • Weeds & grass clippings
  • Leaves & flowers

No, thanks!

  • Plastic
  • Packaging (even if it says compostable)
  • Nappies
  • Pet waste
  • Tea bags
  • Wood building material
  • Glass & metal
  • Textiles & old clothing
  • Rocks, soil & large branches
  • Paper towel & tissues

Yes. Council has provided residents with compostable bags certified to Australian composting standards (AS4736). Please only put bags with the seedling logo that are certified to this standard in the bin.

Store your liners in a cool, dark place, such as a kitchen cupboard. The liners are designed to break down, so exposure to excessive sunlight will accelerate this.

You can store your food scraps in any container or jar of your choice. We suggest storing them away from direct sunlight, or in the fridge or freezer if you have space, in the compostable liner.

That’s fantastic! The FOGO service is a commercial compost so can process a larger amount of garden organics and ‘harder to compost items’ such as dairy, meat, bones, bread, grains and citrus. This means you can use it alongside your home composting or chicken food. We suggest keeping these items in your fridge or freezer until collection day to avoid attracting pests.

Useful resources

  • Do you want to encourage more people in your building to use the FOGO service? Email fogo@waverley.nsw.gov.au for free educational resources, including posters and stickers.
  • Read an interview with our FOGO Binfluencer.

If you have any questions about the FOGO service, please email fogo@waverley.nsw.gov.au or call 9083 8696.

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FOGO trial feedback

Tell us how the FOGO service is going in your household on Have Your Say.

Quick links

Join the Compost Revolution