WHAT IS FOGO?
FOGO stands for Food Organics and Garden Organics.
This new recycling service allows you to place your food scraps into your green lidded bin along with your garden waste. The contents of the FOGO bin are processed into quality compost that can be used in parks and fields instead of going to landfills.
From 7 July 2025, Liverpool Council residents who have their own set of bins will be able to dispose of food scraps in the green-lidded bin.
All Councils in NSW are required by the State Government to provide a food recycling service by 2030.
FOGO allows us to divert organic material from landfills and decrease our greenhouse gas emissions, freeing up space in our red bin. It’s a win-win!
Brought to you by the NSW Government through the NSW Environment Protection Authority.
Watch the video below to get a quick overview of the service:
The video is also available in multiple languages: Arabic | Assyrian | Chinese | Vietnamese
- Use the kitchen caddy to collect food scraps separately in the kitchen. You can line your caddy with the provided compostable bag.
- Transfer food scraps from your kitchen caddy to your green bin outside once every 2-3 days. If your scraps are wrapped in newspaper, these are ok to go in too.
- Cover your scraps with leaves, branches, or grass clippings. This will keep any odour from your bin
- Place your green bin out for collection the evening before your scheduled service day. Green bins will be serviced every week from 7th July.
- Fruit scraps
- Vegetable scraps
- Meat and bones
- Eggs and eggshells
- Cheese and dairy products (no liquids)
- Coffee grounds (no pods)
- Tea leaves (no bags)
- Bread
- Pasta and rice (cooked and raw)
- Cereal and legumes
- Expired food (no packaging)
- Leftovers (without container)
- Grass/lawn clippings
- Dry and green leaves
- Twigs and small branches
- Cuttings and pruning
- Weeds
- Flowers
- Dead plants (no pots)
- Biodegradable bags
- Compostable containers (including bamboo/paper & wooden cutlery)
- Coffee cups
- Soil/sand/dirt/rocks/bricks
- Large tree branches
- Treated wood/timber
- Logs
- Garden hose/pipe
- Garden pots
- Garden tools
- Food containers
- Paper
- Cardboard (pizza/takeaway boxes)
- Serviettes
- Tea bags
- Coffee pods
- Pet waste
- Hair (pet/human)
- Nail clippings
- Plastic bags
- Food wrappers
- Plastic boxes
- Cling wrap/ baking paper/foils
- Broken crockery
- Broken glass
- Building material
- Paint & Chemicals
- Syringes and medical waste
- Dead animals
- Kitty litter
A kitchen caddy is a small 7L benchtop container provided by the council.
Leave it in your kitchen to collect food scraps when you're preparing and cleaning up after meals.
You can empty the contents of the caddy into your kerbside, green-lidded Food Organics and Waste Organics (FOGO) bin.
| Step 1 | Line your FOGO caddy with the approved lime green compostable liner |
|---|---|
| Step 2 | Place all food scraps in your caddy |
| Step 3 | After 2-3 days or once the liner is full, tie the liner and drop it in your green lid bin |
| Step 4 | Place your green-lid kerbside bin out the night before collection |
- These are compostable bags that you can use to line the benchtop kitchen caddy. Once full, tie a knot and drop them in the green lid bin.
- An average household usually takes 2-3 days to fill up a caddy liner
- A pack provided consists of 75 liners, which last up to 6 months
- To identify a compostable liner, look for the AS 4736 certified compostable liner, with a seedling logo as shown.
- Open the flat pack of liners and take out one liner
- Hold the top end of the liner between your thumb and finger and rub them together to open the liner easily
- Place the liner around the caddy
- Tie the liner when it's full and drop it in the green FOGO bin
- Store liners in a cool and dry place so they don’t break down
- DO NOT USE plastic bags in the kitchen caddy or green FOGO bin. Plastic is a no-go in FOGO!
Yes, the green lidded FOGO bin can now take both your garden waste as well as your food waste in it.
- Replace liners every few days as they will start to break down
- Rinse/wash your FOGO caddy and bins regularly
- Don’t overfill your compostable caddy liners, to prevent breakage
- Store the caddy in a cool, dry place to reduce the attraction of flies
- Keep the caddy lid closed to avoid bad smells as well as flies and pests
- Freeze smelly or rotten food in an airtight container and empty it straight into the bin the night before collection
