Food recycling for apartments

What is FOGO and how does it impact my building?

FOGO is a new combined Food Organics, Garden Organics (FOGO) food recycling service that means your green lid garden waste bin also accepts food waste and turns it into compost for farmers.

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. 

From January 2024, all burgundy lid bins will be swapped over to a combined green lid FOGO bin. 

If my apartment doesn't have a green lid bin, can we still FOGO?

You will need a green lid bin to use the FOGO food recycling service.

If your building doesn't currently have one, you can order a 120L or 240L wheelie bin at no additional cost.

Order a FOGO wheelie bin

When is my food recycling bin collected?

Your food recycling bin is collected weekly on the same day as your garbage (red lid) bin

How do I order more compostable bin liners?

Submit a request for additional bin liners by using the online order form below. Compostable bin liners will be delivered to your letterbox.

Click here to order more compostable bin liners

You can also collect compostable bin liners from our major customer service centres: 

• Ashfield Service Centre - 260 Liverpool Road, Ashfield
• Leichardt Service Centre - 7-15 Wetherill Street, Leichhardt
• Petersham Service Centre - 2-14 Fisher Street, Petersham

If you want to purchase your own compostable bin liners, look for the 'seedling' logo to ensure products are certified compostable.

Can I collect compostable bin liners from Council?

Yes, residents can collect compostable bin liners from our major service centres. Simply ask our staff and they will kindly provide you with up to two packs of compostable bin liners per unit. If you are requesting bags for more than one unit, please let our staff know.   

Council will be requesting residents in specific suburbs to collect their bags from major service centres.  

Due to increasing participation in food recycling, and an increasing demand for compostable bag deliveries, residents in Stanmore, Petersham and Lewisham will be required to collect individual bag requests from our major service centres:

• Ashfield Service Centre - 260 Liverpool Road, Ashfield
• Leichardt Service Centre - 7-15 Wetherill Street, Leichhardt
• Petersham Service Centre - 2-14 Fisher Street, Petersham

Alternatively, residents can order a box of compostable bin liners and have them delivered for all residents in their building.

How do I order a benchtop bin?

It's not mandatory to use the supplied benchtop bin.

You can use any container that suits your kitchen size or aesthetic.

We recommend using a container that can be stowed under the sink, in the fridge or next to your chopping board or knife block as a reminder to use it. 

You can request a benchtop bin by clicking on the button below. You can also request a replacement lid, handle or benchtop bin if required.  

Order a kitchen benchtop bin

How can I reduce odour and pests?

 Reducing odour and pests in your kitchen benchtop bin

There are a number of quick and easy steps you can take to reduce odour and pests in your kitchen benchtop bin:

• Wash your kitchen benchtop bin with hot, soapy water. The bin is also dishwasher safe.
• Use bicarb soda or newspaper to line the bottom of the of the bin. 
• Use a 1:1 mix of water and vinegar, and a few drops of an essential oil, in a 200ml sprayer to create a chemical-free deodorising spray.
• Wrap meats and seafood in a compostable bin liner or newspaper before putting in your kitchen benchtop bin.
• If you have the space, store meats and seafood in an airtight container in the freezer until the night before collection.

Reducing odour and pests in your wheelie bin

There are a number of quick and easy steps you can take to reduce odour and pests in your wheelie bin: 

• Rinse the wheelie bin every week after collection. Clean using boiling water and detergent once a month.
• Use bicarb soda to line the sides and base of the wheelie bin. This will soak up food waste liquids, reduce odour and lessen the attraction of flies.
• Sprinkle table salt around the rim of the bin to deter flies and fly larvae.
• Use 1:1 mix of water and vinegar, and 200ml of an essential oil, in a 5L pump action sprayer to create a chemical-free deodorising spray. This can also be used to reduce the odour of general waste bins. 

What can I put in the benchtop bin?

All of your food waste. The food recycling bin accepts any type of food, even meats, bones and dairy!

We'd recommend lining the bottom of you benchtop bin with a used paper towel, old newspaper or bicarb soda to help absorbs liquids. This will reduce odour, the attraction of pests and ensure that your bag doesn't breakdown in your kitchen. 

What can’t I put in my bench top bin?

Regular plastic bags should not be used to collect and recycle food scraps. Please only use bags provided by Council or bags that carry the 'seedling' logo.

Visit the A-Z: What goes where? page for help on what to do with waste that cannot go into your bins.

How do I recycle my food scraps?

Council will provide you with everything you need to recycle your food scraps. 

 

Step 1

Use only the compostable bags provided (or ones with the seedling logo and code AS4736) to line your kitchen benchtop bin.

You can order more online or collect them from our service centres.

 

Step 2

Place all your food scraps, including meat and fish, into your kitchen bench top bin.

 

Step 3

Once full, tie a knot in the top of the liner and take it to your green or burgundy lid food recycling bin (this will be located in your bin bay area or ask your Body Corporate or Strata Manager).

 

Step 4

The food recycling bin is collected weekly by a dedicated food recycling truck.

How can I avoid food waste? 

Check out our dedicated Food Waste Avoidance page for more information.

The best way to manage food waste is to avoid it! Wasting food also wastes the energy, water and natural resources used to grow, package, transport and market that food. Reducing your food waste helps reduce your overall environmental footprint. 

What does this actually mean? 

This household could offset their household electricity emissions for more than 6-months by recycling their food scraps. 

Similarly, this household could offset the yearly emissions from cooling - not only their own fridge - but both of their neighbours' fridges too!

*Average food waste generation from Tackling Australia's food waste, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, December 2021 *Food waste greenhouse account factors from National Greenhouse Account Factors, October 2020 *Assuming Inner West household uses 11.7Kwh/day, emission factor of 0.81 Kg Co2-e/kWh, National Greenhouse Account Factors, August 2019

Where do the food scraps go?

Your scraps are transported to Topsoil Organics where they are mixed with garden organics, biosolids, and animal manure to create soil conditioners, compost and fertiliser. 

Soil conditioners - like hair conditioners - improve soil moisture, strength, and promote plant growth. Soil conditioners make soils more drought and flood resistant (by holding more water in heatwaves and absorbing more rain in prolonged rain periods) and improved plant growth means more grass on your sporting fields or more corn on your cob!

Compost - The organic matter - from your food scraps and garden organics - in compost helps increase soil fertility by retaining essential nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N P K) which are essential for plant growth. Compost increases organic matter improves soil structure. Soil structure is important for increasing the water holding capacity, improving resistance against flood and drought, allowing the transfer of nutrients from natural fertiliser to microorganisms to plants. Resilient soils are critical as extreme weather events become more frequent and more intense. 

Fertiliser - Natural fertilisers provide a balanced and slow release of essential nutrients to the soil, reducing the risk of over-fertilisation of eutrophication in sensitive aquatic environments. Being created from food scraps and garden organics, rather than synthetic products, natural fertiliser create a healthier microbiome (the microorganisms in the soil that make nutrients available to plants) than synthetic fertilisers. Natural fertilisers created from organic waste products are a more sustainable solution to improving Australia's long-term soil fertility and environmental health.