What is FOGO?

FOGO stands for Food Organics and Garden Organics. The kerbside collection service, coming to North West Tasmania, is for both food and garden waste including kitchen scraps, lawn clippings and small branches. When FOGO is collected and processed, it is turned into compost to be used in farms, parks and sports fields, rather than just rotting in landfill.

Why is FOGO coming to my local area?

About 4 in 10 of all the general waste produced by our households is food and garden waste. When this waste is placed in the general waste bin and sent to landfill, it degrades and generates environmentally harmful greenhouse gases such as methane* which is 40 times stronger than carbon dioxide (CO2)**. High levels of methane in the air affects the planet’s temperature – leading to changes in the climate such as extreme weather events. 

By introducing FOGO to the North West Council of Tasmania, we are making beneficial changes to make our communities more sustainable and working together towards a greener, safer future. 

*Methane is defined as a gas that is a component of the atmosphere that makes a significant contribution to the greenhouse effect, as well as destroying the atmospheric ozone.

**Carbon dioxide (CO2) is defined as a gas produced by the burning of organic compounds and fossil fuels, by the processes of humans and animals breathing and decomposition of organic materials. CO2 is absorbed by plants during photosynthesis.

When is FOGO being introduced?

Households will be provided with a 240L green-lidded wheelie bin between mid-May to mid-June ahead of the service commencing from early July 2024; Circular Head plans to join the program in coming years.

In the Central Coast Council area, services will continue as normal but the processing facility will change from Launceston to Dulverton.

How does FOGO work?  

It starts in your kitchen and garden. You can use any container to collect your food scraps from the kitchen and tip them into the green lidded FOGO bin. If you have a garden or indoor plants, leaves, flowers and prunings, from these can also be placed into the FOGO bin. Ensure to maintain general hygiene by cleaning out your scraps container and washing your hands when handling. 

The FOGO bin is then collected as part of the fortnightly waste collection service, similar to the current recycling collection. From there, FOGO waste is taken to a processing facility to begin the treatment and testing to create healthy composting that will be used around the local community and farms. 

For communities in the new service, general waste will then be collected fortnightly; except Latrobe and Central Coast, which already have fortnightly collections for waste.

What can I put in the FOGO bin?

You can put food and organic garden waste in your FOGO bin. Food waste includes vegetable peelings, fruit, cooked food, leftovers, meat and bones, seafood waste, dairy and citrus. Together with your food waste, your garden organics such as lawn clippings, weeds, vegie patch waste and small branches can also be added to the bin.

Our A-Z guide of what can go into your FOGO bin will be available in the coming months as the bins are delivered.

What can I not put in the FOGO bin? 

PLEASE DO NOT put any plastics or biodegradable plastics, plastic bags, cling wrap, glass, tins and cans, foil, Tetrapaks, nappies, treated timber, gravel, rocks or building material into your FOGO bin. 

Fireplace ash can be placed on the garden to lift the carbon content of soil.

Separate food waste from containers so only food waste goes in FOGO. If the container is recyclable, then give it a rinse and it can go into the yellow/recycling bin.

Our A-Z guide of what can go into your FOGO bin will be available in the coming months as the bins are delivered.

How much will the FOGO collection service cost? 

Charges will be set by each Council across the North West and provided in their budget papers.  The Councils have worked together to create the best value for the bin collection service. For most Councils the cost will be minimised with: 

• No extra collections (except Latrobe), as the general waste service will be fortnightly;
• Reduced processing costs compared to landfill; and 
• No state levy applicable to the material in this bin saving over $40/tonne from the service start day compared to landfilling.

The FOGO process provides a more cost effective service than landfill, which in turn lowers costs for rate payers in the community. It also provides an opportunity to assess how much waste we produce and where we can reduce this by changing our buying habits.

Will my FOGO bin smell?

It’s no lie that waste will smell at times, just like your general waste bin may do now. Below are tips that you can use to reduce this:

• Keep your bin in the shade if possible and always keep the lid shut
• Layer your food waste with garden waste such as lawn clippings and leaf litter or cardboard/waste paper
• Rinse you bin out regularly and let it dry completely
• Freeze fish and meat waste, and put in your FOGO bin the morning of collection
• Use a sprinkling of bicarbonate soda to deodorise your bin or caddy
• Offer a helping hand to anyone in the community, such as an elderly neighbour, who may struggle to implement this  

How often will it get collected?

The FOGO bin, alongside Waste and Recycling bins, will be collected fortnightly.  

Your local schedule will be provided when the bin arrives and your Council’s web site.

I have feedback – praise or concerns for the FOGO collection service. Who do I contact? 

Any questions, comments or concerns about the service contact by email [email protected] or call Dulverton Waste Management on (03) 6424 7344.