Green Lid Bin - Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO)

In early 2026 Council will be delivering a green-lid FOGO (food and garden organics) bin to every household that receives a Council waste service but does not yet have a FOGO bin.

Organics refers to anything that has grown naturally like food, food scraps, leaves, small branches, grass clippings, etc. It does not refer to human-made objects like garden hoses, plant pots, etc.

The new green-lid FOGO bins will be delivered to every household that receives a Council waste service, but does not yet have a FOGO bin, during early 2026. 

More information regarding timing will be made available closer to the roll-out.

All Wyndham households that receive a Council waste service, but do not currently have a green-lid FOGO bin.

In early 2026 Council’s contractor will start delivering the green-lid FOGO bins to households that do not already receive the FOGO (food and garden organics) service. 

Residents should bring this bin onto their property, read the information provided and start using their bin and kitchen caddy to compost their food and garden organics. 

FOGO bins will be collected fortnightly. Your FOGO bin collection day will be the same day of the week as your garbage collection, but it will be the opposite week to your recycling collection. So, if it is not your recycling week then it will be your FOGO week. To check your day, visit https://digital.wyndham.vic.gov.au/myWyndham/ or download the waste and recycling collection map on our website. 

Your service will continue as normal.

Food and garden waste makes up around 46 per cent of household waste sent to landfill and produces methane, a greenhouse gas that is approximately 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide. 

Using a green-lid FOGO bin diverts this waste from landfill to a commercial composting facility where it is instead used to make compost, which can be used on local farms as a natural fertiliser and to help with water retention. It is also cheaper to compost these materials than it is to send them to landfill, so the more residents use their FOGO bin, the more we can limit the change in the waste service charge

Initially, the FOGO service to all Wyndham households will be collected fortnightly and garbage bins will be collected weekly. Many residents have told us during consultation, that they would prefer a weekly FOGO service. Based on other councils’ experiences, if changes were made to collection frequencies, then residents are more likely to place more food and green waste in their FOGO bin than their garbage bin.

Implementing a fortnightly FOGO service to all households is already a significant change for the community. Quarterly audits will be conducted to monitor usage patterns and diversion rates which will be used to determine if or when any changes to collection frequencies may occur. Any changes will be a future consideration for Council after the community has had time to adapt.

The FOGO bin complements your backyard compost or worm farm because you can use it for food scraps and garden waste that don’t go in your compost or worm farm, like:

• Bones e.g. fish bones, chicken and turkey carcases 
• Branches & sticks
• Citrus (whole fruit & peels)
• Dairy eg cheese, yoghurt, cream
• Meat (raw and cooked)
• Onions, garlic and chillies
• Seafood (leftovers, heads shells and peelings)
• Weeds and weed seeds

In 2020, the Victorian Government commenced a program to transform the recycling sector, reduce waste, create thousands of jobs and set Victoria up for a more sustainable future. 

Under these reforms, the Victorian Government requires Councils to roll-out green-lid FOGO bins to all households that receive a Council waste service by the end of 2030. Under service standard that are currently being developed, The Victorian Government may require this service sooner, as early as 1 July 2027. 

Wyndham City’s organics processing contractor does not accept compostable plastic bags but does accept compliant paper bags. The Victorian Government’s draft Household Waste and Recycling Service Standards also state that compostable plastic bags are not to be used. However, the final Service Standards have not yet been released and are expected in April 2025. At this stage it is looking unlikely that compostable plastic caddy liners will be included in the Service Standards but its possible paper liners may be included. Given the uncertainty in whether the Service Standards will permit any type of caddy liner, it is proposed at this stage to deliver only a caddy along with a FOGO bin to households and not to deliver a caddy liner. After the Service Standards are finalised, further work will be undertaken to determine if caddy liners are to be used by Council and if so, how they will be implemented.

It is anticipated that the cost for the new bins and kitchen caddies will be approximately $3.5 million. In addition to these costs and the costs of collecting and processing the food and garden waste and other changes in waste service charging, it is expected that the waste service charge will increase by approximately $67 per household in the 2025/26 financial year. This charge should reduce slightly in following years since the initial cost of delivering the new bins will have been covered in the first year.

Residents will not be required to pay a separate charge for this service. The current green waste charge will no longer be required as the costs for the service will be mostly covered by the waste service charge. Council has also received Victorian Government funding to assist with this project which will cover the rest of the costs. Residents currently paying the green waste charge, which would have been approximately $101 in 2025/26, will no longer have to pay this charge. This results in a saving of $34 for these households

Wyndham City is only supplying FOGO bins to households that pay Council’s waste service charge.  For homes that have their waste collected by private waste contractors, Wyndham City will not be providing bins or a FOGO service.

Note: all expired, stale, rotten or freezer-burnt food must be removed from its packaging before going in the FOGO bin. Putting food and garden waste in loose is the most environmentally friendly way to use a FOGO bin.

Wyndham’s FOGO is currently processed at Veolia’s organics composting facility in Bulla. The compost is then sent to farms to fertilise the land.

No. The FOGO bin is only for food waste and garden organics from your household. Dead animals in your FOGO bin present a biohazard for staff working on the sorting line at the compost facility. Small animals like birds or mice can go in your landfill bin (red lid), but cats and dogs or livestock are too big. Contact a vet to help you with removal and disposal. 

Food scraps and garden organics can be prone to odour in high temperatures, or if the bin lid is not completely closed.

Try these tips to reduce the chance of odour: 

• Wrap particularly smelly food scraps in newspaper, or keep them in the freezer until bin night
• Put your bin out to be emptied on each collection day, even if it’s not full
• Make sure the bin lid closes completely
• Mix garden organics in with food scraps
• Keep your bin in the shade
• Contact Council if your lid or bin body is cracked and we’ll repair or replace it for free
• Wash out your bin occasionally
• If odour becomes an issue, sprinkle vinegar, bi-carb soda, charcoal or eucalyptus oil in your FOGO bin or kitchen caddy to absorb and dissipate smells

Due to our growing population and the expansion of services, Council’s waste collection contractor will, from time-to-time, need to balance their workload which will result in some households having to change collection days. More information will be provided on this to effected properties well in advance of any changes taking place. Council aims to minimise the impact on residents and make as few changes as possible.

To check your current collection day, visit https://digital.wyndham.vic.gov.au/myWyndham/ or download the waste and recycling collection map on our website.

You can book a hard and green waste collection by visiting: https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/book-hard-green-waste-collection 

Check out our A-Z Interactive Residential Waste Guide at: www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/waste-guide   

You can also download our handy waste and recycling guide at: https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2024-07/Waste%20and%20Recycle%20Guide%20-%20July%202024%20version.pdf   

For more information on household bin services, visit: https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/services/waste-recycling/household-bins/household-bin-services 

Wyndham City has developed several tools that can help you promote recycling and waste education in a variety of settings:

• A-Z interactive residential waste guide - scroll or search the guide for specific items on our website to find out which bin to use.
• Zero waste map – find services or locations within Wyndham where you can take certain commonly used household items to be recycled, such as cardboard, electrical waste, clothing and timber.
• Local litter clean-up groups – promote volunteering to help keep Wyndham clean
• Waste education sessions - Wyndham City offers a series of free waste, recycling, composting, and litter education sessions to schools, businesses or community groups.
• Waste Watchers Online - Wyndham City’s free waste education program, Waste Watchers, is now online, so you can become a waste expert without even leaving your home.
• Educational videos – our website hosts several videos to help explain concepts and processes related to waste and recycling. 

Find out more: https://www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/services/waste-recycling/waste-education-programs-and-initiatives 

Recycling information from the Victorian Government can be found at: https://www.sustainability.vic.gov.au/recycling-and-reducing-waste   

In 2020, the Victorian Government commenced a program to transform the recycling sector, reduce waste, create thousands of jobs and set Victoria up for a more sustainable future.  

Part of these reforms involves transitioning to a four-bin system: 

• combined food and garden organics (FOGO)
• glass recycling 
• plastics, paper, cardboard and metals recycling
• household waste

We are working with the Victorian Government to better understand the options for Wyndham, particularly the requirement for a glass bin recycling service. 

If your bin is broken, you can report that your bin is damaged and needs to be repaired by visiting our website: www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/services/waste-recycling/bin-requests 

If your bin can’t be repaired and needs to be replaced, it will be replaced with a new bin of the same size. 

Bins are usually repaired or replaced within two business days after your scheduled collection. You will need to ensure your bin is empty so it can be repaired.

It is important to notify Council if your bin is broken as it can leak waste, causing litter in our streets and waterways.

Bin repairs and replacements are free to residents. 

You can report that your bin is missing and request a replacement by visiting: www.wyndham.vic.gov.au/form/stolen-missing-bin-request   

If your household has excessive waste and/or recyclables, you can apply for additional bins. Generally, there are additional fees to get larger/additional bins, however there are some exceptional circumstances (such as medical or large families) where fees can be waived. You can order an extra garbage, recycling or FOGO bin by downloading, completing and submitting an additional bin form to Wyndham City via:

Email: mail@wyndham.vic.gov.au   

Mail: Wyndham City Council, PO Box 197, Werribee VIC 3030

If you have any further questions, contact Wyndham City on 1300 023 411.

Pay for it: Please contact Council on 1300 023 411. We will make arrangements for you to pay for the bin and the ongoing bin collection.

Give it back: Please contact Council on 1300 023 411. We will make arrangements for the bin to be removed from your property and cancel any further waste service charges. 

Cost: Council uses property values as the basis for distributing the rating burden across the municipality. The base level waste management charge is the same regardless of the property value. Everyone who receives a garbage and recycling collection, and is eligible for hard waste service, is paying the same waste management charge. Some households have additional waste disposal needs, so are able to request and pay for more or larger bins.

Size: Wyndham City trialed the use of 120 litre garbage bins in 2018. As a result, some residents have slightly smaller bins (120 litres) than the previous standard bins (140 litres). Many residents can efficiently manage their waste with smaller bins. We encourage residents who produce larger volumes of waste to contact us if they need more bin capacity.