FOGO (Food organics garden organics)

Inner West Council provides a weekly food organics garden organics (FOGO) service. By putting food scraps into the FOGO bin, inner west residents are helping to turn food waste into compost which is then used by NSW farmers.

  • Houses and apartment buildings are provided with FOGO green lid wheelie bins.
  • You can select to have a 120 litre green lid bin or a larger 240 litre bin.
  • You can also request an additional FOGO bin at no extra cost. 
  • Council supplies kitchen benchtop bins and compostable liners for the collection of food scraps.

Order a FOGO wheelie bin

  

Order a kitchen benchtop bin

A pack of 75 liners is delivered in May and October to every household. If you would like to opt-out of these deliveries, please complete the request below. 

Opt-out of compostable bag deliveries

If you wish to receive liners in the future, please email us your contact details and residential address to rethink.waste@innerwest.nsw.gov.au

 

How to FOGO like a pro

What goes in my FOGO bin?

If you live in an apartment, you may prefer the information on our apartments page. 

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.

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

You can order both using the links at the top of the page.

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

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 lid bin as needed
  4. Cover your scraps with leaves, branches or grass clippings. This will keep your bin smelling fresh

Important notes

All expired, stale, rotten or freezer burnt foods must be removed from their packaging before going in the FOGO food recycling bin.

Only use certified compostable liners. No plastic or ‘biodegradable’ bags or liners. 

It's not mandatory to use the supplied benchtop bin. You can use any container that suits your kitchen size or aesthetic. 

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