FOGO stands for Food Organics and Garden Organics. It refers to the weekly collection of food scraps and garden organics. This material is then taken to a facility to be turned into compost.

Waste audits have revealed that approximately 56% of material in the general waste bins is organic. The introduction of a FOGO bin will divert organics from landfill where they can be composted.

The introduction of FOGO is supported by the State Government, Federal Government, and the City of Belmont. Western Australia’s Waste Strategy includes the goal of introducing a FOGO bin in every local government area in the Perth and Peel region by 2025.

'If it lives or grows, it's FOGO!'

Your lime green lidded FOGO bin is for food scraps, garden waste, paper products and compostable liners provided by the Council. This includes:

• Bread and dairy
• Fruit and vegetables
• Meat, bones and seafood
• Pruning and leaves
• ​Paper towels, serviettes and tissues

Your yellow lidded Recycling bin is for clean, empty recyclables with the lids removed. This includes:

• Glass bottles and jars
• Cardboard
• Plastic bottles and containers
• Steel and aluminium cans

Your red lidded General Waste bin is for items that can't be recycled or composted. This includes:

• General rubbish items
• Hygiene products
• Nappies
• Plastic Bags
• Polystyrene and soft plastic

To find out which bin to put specific items in, head to the Recycle Right guides below:

Read the Recycle Right 3-bin Guide

Visit the Recycle Right Materials A-Z Guide

Download the free Recycle Right App

The food and garden waste (FOGO) you put in your kerbside bin is collected and taken to North Bannister Resource Recovery Park for processing.
 
Upon arriving, the raw FOGO materials are shredded and placed into large piles so they can be screened and non-FOGO items manually removed. An automated Mobile Aerated Floor system then pumps air through the screened materials to help them break down.
 
After several weeks, the FOGO materials have become a nutrient-rich compost, which is then sent to an accredited laboratory and tested in accordance with Australian Standards.
 

The FOGO bin is collected weekly, and the recycling and general waste bins are collected fortnightly.

You will only be presenting two bins for collection each week. One week will be FOGO and recycling, and the other week will be FOGO and general waste. 

You will a new bin collection schedule with your kitchen caddy to let you know which is recycling and which week is general waste.

Composting, worm farms and feeding scraps to chickens are all fantastic options for the environment and we encourage residents to continue to use these options.

Residents can still use their FOGO bin for organic materials not suitable for composting such as meat, seafood and excess gardening waste.

Contamination rate is the percentage of non-acceptable items that are present in the waste stream. For example, if 100 kg of FOGO waste is collected and 10 kg of the waste is non-FOGO items then the contamination rate is 10%. 

When the contamination rate increases, the cost to process the waste increases and the quality of recovered material decreases.

Sorting your waste correctly is the key to keeping the contamination rate low, and waste processing costs down.
 

Keeping contamination rates low is key to the success of FOGO. When non-FOGO materials end up in your FOGO bin, it can pose several challenges:
 

• Contaminated FOGO waste is more expensive to process and requires more effort and time to remove the contamination.
• Plastic and glass is very difficult to remove during FOGO processing, and can run the risk of ending up in the end-product compost - reducing its quality and benefit.
• Materials like broken glass or hazardous household waste can pose a risk to workers at FOGO processing facilities. 

Like all big changes, learning a new way to sort your waste can take time. That's why FOGO processing facilities have a robust process to manage contamination while still recovering the FOGO materials.

The initial FOGO rollout includes standard households with a full waste service. The rollout is staged over nine weeks, with approximately 1,800 households transitoning to the three bin system and commencing their FOGO service each week.

Bin changeovers will begin in February 2024, with households receiving a letter advising when their FOGO bin is scheduled to arrive.

On changeover week, residents place their bins out on their normal collection day. The general waste bin (green lid) will be emptied and taken away. It will be replaced with a new FOGO bin (lime green lid), general waste bin (red bin), kitchen caddy and liners, plus an Information Pack and new bin collection schedule.

Households can start using their new bins straight away. Their first FOGO bin collection will take place the following week on their normal bin collection day.

You’ll receive a letter in the post letting you know when your new FOGO bin and kitchen caddy are scheduled to arrive.

You can also find your scheduled bin delivery date by using the 'Find your collection dates' search tool on our website.

The bin changeover will happen on your normal collection day on a Recycling week. It will include other households in your area.

The bin changeover will happen on your normal collection day on your Recycling week.
 

1. Place your general waste bin (dark green lid) and recycling bin out on your normal collection day. Make sure to leave your general waste bin out until it has been changed over for your new bins. This will take place prior to 6pm on your collection day.
2. Your general waste bin (dark green lid) will be emptied and taken away.
3. You will receive a new 240L FOGO bin (lime-green lid), 140L general waste bin (red lid) and a kitchen caddy.
4. Inside the kitchen caddy will be free compostable liners, an Information Pack, and a revised bin collection schedule.
5. You can start using your new bins straight away!

Your general waste bin (dark green lid) will be emptied and collected by our waste contractor (Veolia).

The bin will then be sent to a Reprocessing plant where they are shredded, washed and further processed. The materials recovered from your old bin will then be manufactured into new bins.

Most multi unit dwellings with a shared service will be excluded from the initial FOGO rollout. Instead a Waste Education Officer will engage with each Multi Unit Dwelling individually and find individual solutions for each property. 

If you’re unsure whether your property has a single or shared service, contact us at fogo@belmont.wa.gov.au or via the FOGO Hotline.

At this time, commercial properties are not being considered for a FOGO service. 

You will receive your kitchen caddy and free compostable liners with your new FOGO bin and general waste bin. Your caddy will be zip-tied inside your general waste bin, so make sure to look inside!

Once you have detached your kitchen caddy from your new general waste bin, you can begin using it straight away.

The kitchen caddy is designed to be placed on your kitchen countertop to collect your food scraps before placing them in your FOGO bin.

Your kitchen caddy will have a lid, but it's important to make sure it's placed somewhere safe away from pets and children. 

There are a few options for lining your kitchen caddy.
 

• Use a compostable liner (make sure to check it has that compostable sign on it) inside the kitchen caddy to collect your food waste. When it is full, place it in your FOGO bin. Give it a good rinse and repeat.  
• Place your food waste directly into the kitchen caddy (go nude). When it is full, empty the caddy in your FOGO bin. Give it a good rinse and repeat.  
• Use old newspaper inside the kitchen caddy to collect your food waste. When it is full, place it in your FOGO bin. Give it a good rinse and repeat. 

Each households receives two free rolls of compostable liners each financial year (July to June). Each roll contains 75 individual liners.

Your annual Waste and Recycling Guide will include two removeable tokens that can be used to redeem your liners. Present your token and proof of address at the City of Belmont Civic Centre or Ruth Faulkner Library to collect your free liners:

City of Belmont Civic Centre
215 Wright Street, Cloverdale
Open 8:45am to 5pm, Monday to Friday

Ruth Faulkner Library
213 Wright Street, Cloverdale
Open 9am to 7pm, Monday to Friday
10am to 3pm, Saturdays
1pm to 4pm, Sundays

The majority of waste the City collects is food and garden organics, which has an additional dedicated bin under the three bin system.

Audits of the dark green general waste bin (two bin system) revealed 27% of materials were actually recyclables, 57% were food organics garden organics, and only 16% of material was general waste.

That means when your waste is sorted correctly, only 16% of the material you put in your dark green lid general waste bin will go in the new red-lid general waste bin. Providing the additional bin increases the total waste disposal capacity by 70 litres per household per week.

The bin sizes and collection frequancy for our FOGO system is informed by the State Government Waste Authority's Better practice FOGO kerbside collection guidelines. 

If you are having difficulties managing or sorting your waste, you can contact for FOGO Hotline on 9477 7500, or email fogo@belmont.wa.gov.au to discuss.
 

Most smelly items that attract pests are organic materials that go in the FOGO bin, which will be collected weekly. 
 
There are also a number of ways to reduce bin odours, including: 

• Ensuring your bin lids are properly closed 

• Rinsing or washing your kerbside bins out every few months. 

• Putting your bins out for collection even when they are not full 

• If possible, keep your bins in the shade 

• Freeze meat or seafood scraps and place them in the bin on collection day 

• Dry out gardening waste before placing it in the bin to reduce the moisture content 

• Place a small amount of baking soda in your FOGO bin after it is emptied 

A bigger general waste bin will be provided to households with medical conditions, or in certain circumstances. To find out if you qualify, email fogo@belmont.wa.gov.au or call the FOGO Hotline on 9477 7500.

Here are some tips to reduce odours from nappies: 

• Switching to cloth nappies can reduce odours and free up capacity in your waste bin. The City provides a subsidy for cloth nappies. Find out more and apply for a rebate here. 

• Empty hard contents of nappies into the toilet before placing in the waste bin. 

• Seal soiled nappies in a disposable diaper or sanitary bags to contain the odour. 

• Place a small amount of baking soda, kitty litter or spritz of vinegar in the waste bin after it is emptied to reduce odour. 

The new general waste bin is a smaller 140 litre size with an additional footprint of approximately 50cm. 

If you are concerned there won’t be space on your property, contact our FOGO Crew for support and assistance.

If Veolia have been unable to lift or empty your bin on collection day, they will attach a sticker to the corresponding kerbside bin to let you know.

The most common reasons for this to occur are:

• Your bin was located under a tree, or was behind a parked vehicle, fence or other obstruction.
• Your bin weighed more than 70kg, so was unable to be lifted.
• Your bin was over-filled, preventing the lid from closing and being safely emptied.
• Your bin contained a large amount of materials that could not be collected, like construction material or hazardous waste.

If your red bin is stickered, you should address the issue preventing collection, then call Veolia on 9350 7182 so they can return to empty your bin. If you are unsure why your bin was stickered, Veolia can provide you more information and advise to solve the problem.

If you're having difficulties with an over-flowing red bin, you can contact our FOGO Crew to chat through solutions that will work for your household. You can call them on 9477 7500, emailing fogo@belmont.wa.gov.au or visiting the Help Desk at the Civic Centre.

Every household is different, so there are options available to ensure your bins are in top-knotch shape for collection.
 

No. You’re still eligible for at least one 3m3 bulk bin each financial year, depending on the size of the property and available verge space. 

Find out more about our bulk bin service 

No. Your bin collection day will remain the same.

You will receive a new bin collection schedule in your kitchen caddy to let you know which week to put out FOGO and Recycling, and which week to put out FOGO and General Waste.

View and download your FOGO Bin Collection Schedule

Yes. Any additional waste services registered with the City will continue with the new collection schedule. 
 
You can verify whether your services are registered by checking the Waste Service Charges your most recent Rates Notice, or contacting us at fogo@belmont.wa.gov.au.  

No. The three bin FOGO system is now the standard waste collection service in the City.

This is in line with the State Government’s recently revised Waste Strategy 2030, which requires all councils to move to a three bin FOGO system by 2025.

Our transition to the three bin system is funded by the State Government's Better Bins Plus: GO FOGO program which is delivered by the Waste Authority.

The program supports local governments to provide better practice three bin kerbside collection systems before the 2025 target date. In order to be eligible, local governernments must deliver services in line with the Better practice FOGO kerbside collection guidelines. City of Belmont is one of 24 local governments taking part in the program.

FOGO is the City's new standard kerbside bin collection service, so the fees are included in your annual Waste Fees and Charges. These charges cover all the City's waste services, including on-demand bulk bin service, drop-off days, community bins, litter clean-up and waste education.

The Waste Fees and Charges are reviewed each year as part of the City's budget, and are applied to your rates notice.