Food Organics Garden Organics

8 days ago

Liverpool City Council

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WHAT IS FOGO?

FOGO is a Food Organics and Garden Organics recycling service that turns the contents of your green bin into compost!

This will reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by up to 35 per cent.

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. Anything that is put into your red bin is sent to landfill. FOGO allows us to divert organic material from landfill and decrease our greenhouse emissions – freeing up space in your red bin. It’s a win-win! These organics are then turned into compost to be used on our parks and sporting fields.

What can I put in my bin

FOGO GOGO’S

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)

What cannot go in my green bin

NO-GO’s

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

What is a kitchen caddy

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 outside into your kerbside, green-lidded Food Organics and Waste Organics (FOGO) wheelie bin every few days.

How to use your caddy

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

What is a caddy liner

These are compostable bags to assist in the recycling of all organic waste from your kitchen. To identify a compostable liner look for the AS 4736 certified compostable liner, with a seedling logo as shown.

You can line the benchtop kitchen caddy with these compostable liners and drop them in the green lid bin once they get full.
A roll usually consists of about 75liners
An average household can usually take up to 2-3 days to fill up a caddy liner.

How to use the caddy liners

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
It's important that you DO NOT USE plastic bags in the kitchen caddy or green FOGO bin. Plastic is a no-go in FOGO!
Now 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

How often will my bins be collected

Green bin: Weekly
Red bin: Weekly
Yellow bin: Fortnightly

FOGO caddy tips

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

Where can I get more compostable caddy liners?

Council Customer service Hubs (locations to be confirmed)

What happens to my FOGO

Once we pick up your green bin contents, we take it to Australian Native Landscapes (ANL) in Terrey Hills to be processed into a rich and earthy compost mix.

After your FOGO has been processed at ANL, we can then use it throughout Council’s parks, sporting fields and gardens, helping to meet Council’s strategic waste target of increasing landfill diversion rate to 80% by 2030.