Food recycling for apartments

FOGO is a combined Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) food recycling service that turns your green lid bin contents into compost for farmers. Your green lid bin accepts all food scraps including meats, dairy and bones with your regular household garden organics.

Apartments with a green lid and burgundy lid bin can use both to recycle their food scraps. Garbage and FOGO bins are still collected weekly for apartments. 

You will need a container to collect your food scraps in the kitchen and a green lid wheelie bin to present weekly for collection.

Your building should have a green or burgundy lid bin for food scraps. If it doesn't, contact your Strata Manager or Strata Committee member to order a green lid FOGO bin for your building. 

Council can provide residents in apartments with a 5L or 7L benchtop bin. Please indicate whether you require a pack of liners with your order. Ask your building manager or caretaker if they have access to liners onsite before ordering. 

Order a FOGO benchtop bin 

7L benchtop bin pictured

You can use any container to transfer your food scraps – including meats, dairy, and bones – into the green lid bin.

Use your kitchen benchtop bin and compostable liners to easily transfer your scraps from kitchen to kerb:

1. Line your kitchen benchtop bin with the compostable liners provided. You can also use newspaper or put your food scraps in 'nude’ (without a liner).
2. Collect food scraps, expired food and old takeaway in your kitchen benchtop bin.
3. Empty into your green or maroon lid bin as needed.
4. Cover your scraps with leaves, branches or grass clippings. This will keep your bin smelling fresh.

You will need a green lid or maroon lid bin to recycle your food scraps.

If your building doesn't have a green lid bin, you can request a 120 litre or 240 litre bin for your building. You can request an additional FOGO bin at no cost. 

Order a FOGO wheelie bin

All councils in NSW are required by the state government to provide a food recycling service by 2030. Inner West Council is leading the way as on of the first Sydney councils to introduce it. Composting your food scraps through the green lid bin helps to:

• Support local farmers and the agricultural industry
• Create full-time employment opportunities
• Further Australia's domestic waste processing capacity
• Develop Australian Made products and improve the local economy 
• Reduce waste to landfill and support a circular economy 
• Minimise the impacts of climate change

Your food and garden organics are processed by Topsoil Organics who create soil conditioners, compost and fertiliser. 

Firstly, your FOGO is cleaned by removing contamination (by hand and with machinery). It's then shredded into smaller pieces so healthy fungi and bacteria can break it down. The shredded material is transferred to a composting platform (called windrows) where heat, water and oxygen turn it to a soil-like material. 

FOGO material is tested to ensure compliance with EPA and Australian Standards and screened into a range of product sizes prior to sale.

Three common products include:

Soil conditioners - like hair conditioners - increase the strength of soils by providing essential nutrients. Soil conditioners can increase the water holding capacity of soils - meaning they can absorb more water during intense rainfall. This reduces soil erosion, flood damage and increases the amount of water they can store for periods of drought. Climate resilient soils are critical as weather patterns become more extreme and less predictable. 

Compost - compost provides essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N P K). Compost increases the abundance and diversity of microbes in the soil which allows plants to access more nutrients in the soil. This improves plant growth and means more grass on your sporting fields or more corn on your cob!

Fertiliser - organic fertilisers provide a balanced and slow release of essential nutrients to the soil. This reduces the risk of polluting waterways and provides a more reliable source of food for crops. Fertilisers made from FOGO are created using natural feedstocks and require far less energy than synthetic fertilisers.

Three good reasons farmers want your FOGO to make their compost: 

1. Compost creates more resilient soils – compost increases the amount of water absorbed by soils. This reduces flooding during intense rainfall and stores water for longer during times of drought.
   
   
2. Compost returns vital nutrients to the soil and reduces farmers’ reliance on artificial fertilisers - synthetic fertilisers are expensive and can harm streams, estuaries and river systems.
   
   
3. Compost enhances the natural immunity of soils - this helps soils naturally fight off disease and decreases the reliance on synthetic pesticides and herbicides. Healthy crops mean better quality produce and more food for you, your family and your friends.  

Warmer weather can make food recycling challenging. Here are some tips that are guaranteed to make food recycling easier: 

• Empty and rinse your benchtop bin regularly. Your benchtop bin is dishwasher safe - the handles and lid can be removed for easy stacking. 
  
  
• Sprinkle bicarb in the bottom of your benchtop bin to absorb liquids. This will reduce odour and increase the life of your compostable liner. 
  
  
• Freeze meat, bones and dairy until bin night. We promise it won't stink out your fridge.
  
  
•  Store your benchtop bin away from direct sunlight (try the fridge or under the sink).
  
  
• Consider using an old tuppaware or airtight container (old ice cream, hommus or yoghurt tub) to store your scraps. You don't have to use the benchtop bin provided.
  
  
• Request a vented lid for your benchtop bin - it will stop your scraps from sweating and smelling.
  
  
• Residents can collect packs of liners from customer service centres and libraries at no additional cost.

Warmer weather can make food recycling challenging. Here are some tips that are guaranteed to make food recycling easier: 

• Keep your wheelie bin out of the sun.
  
  
• Rinse your wheelie bin after every collection. 
  
  
• Use leaves, branches, and grass clippings to cover your food scraps. If you don't have a garden - sprinkle bicarb soda in the bottom of your wheelie bin to absorb liquids. 
  
  
• Consider using a bin tag to deter pests attracted to odours in the warmer months. Bin repellents can be purchased from hardware retailers, supermarkets and local grocers. 

That's great! Home composting avoids emissions from transporting food organics to a licenced composting facility and produces a nutrient rich product that can be used on your garden. We encourage all residents to continue using existing home composting systems for their food scraps, or reach out to us if they'd like to start.

There are some items like meat, dairy, rice and grains, which are best not composted at home. You can use your green lid FOGO bin to keep them out of landfill.

Residents can establish a home composting system through our home composting programs.

Compostable bin liners are delivered every May and November to houses and apartments.

One pack of liners will last the average household up to 6-months. We know not all households will use them at the same rate so residents can access liners over the counter at all Council service centres and libraries. Alternatively, liners are available from our mobile customer service stalls held throughout the community from Tuesday to Saturday.

Residents can purchase liners from major supermarkets, independent grocers and hardware retailers. Please make sure to purchase green liners with the seedling logo, marked AS4736. Regular plastic bags and "biodegradable" or "degradable" bags will contaminate the compost used by farmers. 

No - regular plastic bags and "biodegradable" or "degradable" bags are not accepted. These bags will not decompose and will contaminate the compost used by farmers to grow food.

Only use Council provided liners, or green liners that are certified compostable (look for the seedling logo).