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FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) is a new way we can recycle our household food scraps every week, coming in November 2024.
City of Parramatta is excited to announce a new kitchen caddy is joining your household! Your new kitchen caddy will be delivered later this year along with a new set of bins - red lid garbage, yellow lid recycling and green lid FOGO bin - to replace your existing bins. Pop your caddy on the kitchen benchtop, line it with a compostable bin liner, fill it with your food scraps and empty it into your green lid FOGO bin.
FOGO waste collection services will begin from November 2024 to residents living in single-unit dwellings and unit buildings <30 dwellings.*
*People living in buildings with more than 30 dwellings will be introduced to FOGO at a later stage.
What is FOGO?
(Back to top)- FOGO stands for Food Organics and Garden Organics. It is a combined food waste and garden waste collection and recycling service. You can now recycle your food and garden organics with your new green lid FOGO bin. Anything you can eat or grow such as meats, dairy, bones, to grass and sticks can now go in FOGO!
- A 240L green lid FOGO bin and 7L green lid kitchen caddy will be delivered to households for the disposal of food scraps and garden waste.
Why do we need FOGO?
- To reduce landfill and the impact of climate change, the NSW Government has mandated all councils in the state implement FOGO (Food Organics Garden Organics) waste collection services.
- The FOGO waste collection service will contribute to diverting the waste we send to landfill by 85% by 2038.
What you need to know
(Back to top)Between late-July and November 2024 if you live in a house, townhouse or a unit building with <30 dwellings, you will receive:
- A new red lid garbage bin (80L) collected weekly
- A new green lid FOGO bin (240L) collected weekly
- A new yellow lid recycling bin (240L) collected fortnightly
- A new green lid kitchen caddy (7L) for your benchtop
- FOGO service commences in November 2024.
Red lid garbage bin cost implications:
| Bin Size | Annual Cost | Cost Implication |
| 80L red lid garbage bin | $457.85 | Cost saving of $42.69 reflected in your rates notice |
| 140L red lid garbage bin | $500.54 | No additional fee – cost remaining the same as is currently being paid. |
| 240L red lid garbage bin | $754.69 | Additional cost |
- With food waste being diverted to your new FOGO green bin, you will receive a new 80L red lid garbage bin and cost saving which will be reflected in your rates notice
- Your red lid garbage bin will be reduced to 80L as food waste will be going to the FOGO bin. This will also be reflected in a reduction to your rates costs.
- Property owners will be sent a form to confirm the preferred size of their red lid garbage bin, if you'd prefer, you can also fill in the form digitally.
- You’ll get increased capacity of bin space with FOGO!
- For renters who require a larger red lid bin, please contact your real estate agent or landlord by Friday 17 May 2024 for them to purchase a larger bin option on your behalf.
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Bin Type Green Garden Organics bin Red Garbage bin Yellow Recycling bin Bin Size 240L 140L 240L Collection Frequency Fortnightly Weekly Fortnightly 
Total waste capacity across a fortnight is currently 760L.
This will change to:
Bin Type Green Food Organics and Garden Organics bin Red Garbage bin Yellow Recycling bin Bin Size 240L 80L 240L Collection Frequency Weekly Weekly Fortnightly 
Total waste capacity across a fortnight will increase to 880L.
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With our new waste collection program, you’ll get increased capacity moving from 760 litres per fortnight to 880 litres per fortnight across the red landfill bin, yellow recycling bin and green FOGO bin – this is an increase of 120 litres!
TOTAL BIN CAPACITY PER FORTNIGHT Red Garbage FOGO Yellow Recycling Total volume per Fortnight Current 280L (2X140L) 240L (1x240L) 240L (1x240L) 760L FOGO 160L (2x80L) 480L (2x240L) 240L (1x240L) 880L Change -120L +240L No change +120L
Still have questions?
Or email us on fogo@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au
Downloadable Resources
FOGO A5 Flyer
FOGO Pamphlet
Red Lid Garbage Bin Request form
(Back to top)Property owners will be sent a form to confirm the preferred size of their red lid garbage bin, if you'd prefer, please fill in the form digitally.
Key dates
(Back to top) |
Property owners of single-unit dwellings will be sent a form with the option to opt in to receive a larger red lid bin for an additional fee. For renters who require a larger red lid bin, please contact your real estate agent or landlord by Friday 17 May 2024 for them to purchase a larger bin option on your behalf. |
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New red, yellow and green bins are delivered. Keep placing your food scraps in the red lid garbage bin for now. |
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FOGO ‘starter pack' delivered including green lid kitchen caddy and six months’ supply of compostable liners. |
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FOGO waste collection service commences. Start using your green lid kitchen caddy and placing food and garden waste in your green lid FOGO bin. From the week commencing 11 November 2024, existing red lid garbage bins will be collected. |
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FOGO service rolled out to people living in apartments with more than 30 dwellings. |
Learn about FOGO at your local outdoor cinema event
(Back to top)Meet City of Parramatta’s FOGO team at their pop-up stall throughout the Outdoor Cinema Series from 12-26 April. From 4pm-6pm, kids can participate in fun educational games and the team will be on hand to answer all your FOGO-related questions.
Become a FOGO Champion
(Back to top)Help your community embrace this great change and become a FOGO champion. You will act as a FOGO advocate within the community by offering to help people adjust to the new way we recycle our food scraps. Submit your interest here. We will be in touch to roll out FOGO with your support.
Keep up to date
Stay tuned for more information! Council is here to help you on your FOGO journey. Over the coming months, we’ll be rolling out instructional videos, an A-Z list of FOGO items you can put in your kitchen caddy, and more.
Community Consultation (Back to top)
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- In late 2021 and early 2022, Council ran an eight-week community consultation campaign requesting feedback on the introduction of the government-mandated FOGO waste collection service.
- The campaign included information about sending food waste to landfill and the environmental and cost benefits of separating food from general waste.
- Four options for a new waste collection service were outlined and Council surveyed residents on which were acceptable and which was the preferred solution.
- A variety of methods and channels were used to promote the consultation:
- an LGA-wide letterbox drop
- multiple social media campaigns
- Council's e-newsletters (City News) and Participate newsletters
- Council's website and media release
- Local newspaper display ads
- On Monday 22 August 2022, Council was presented the survey and workshop results for consideration.
- Council resolved to approve ‘Service Option 3’ to be specified in the future waste services tender. Service Option 3 is as follows:
- Weekly collection of general waste in a 80L bin
- Fortnightly collection of recycling in a 240L bin
- Weekly collection of food organics and garden organics in a 240L bin
- The reasons for supporting Option 3 were:
- It provides a weekly collection, which was of high importance to the community in survey results
- It recognises that on average, 46% of the contents of the red-lidded garbage bin is food waste and that this would be collected weekly in the green bin
- It supports the City’s goal of diverting 85% of waste from landfill as per the endorsed Environmental Sustainability Strategy
- Councillors also discussed:
- The need for significant education and communication prior to the roll out
- Providing opportunity for households to request a larger bin if needed (at a small cost)
- Providing a service which balances the needs of different household types
- To view the options presented in the survey, please visit Participate Parramatta.
- Not sure about your bin collection day? Check the Bin Collection map.
- In late 2021 and early 2022, Council ran an eight-week community consultation campaign requesting feedback on the introduction of the government-mandated FOGO waste collection service.
