Results from the Rhodes and Concord West Trial
In 2022, Council conducted a 12-month FOGO trial in selected MUD households in Rhodes and Concord West, which resulted in:
Provision of the FOGO service continues to be provided to properties that participated in the Rhodes and Concord West trial. If you have run out of compostable liners please complete the registration form.
Council will expand the availability of this service to include more properties within the City of Canada Bay. Scroll down below for more information.
How to use your FOGO bin
Watch our video above to learn more. It’s also available in Chinese and Korean.
We have put together some helpful tips to help your manage your kitchen caddy and keep it free from flies and spills.
Why FOGO?
1. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by diverting food waste from landfills.
Did you know that food waste makes up about 34% of the waste generated by households in our community?
Not only are we wasting valuable resources by sending food to landfill, but we're also contributing to climate change. Food waste when sent to landfill releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
FOGO participant properties can now do their bit for the planet and turn their food waste into a nutrient-rich compost.
2. The NSW EPA has mandated for Councils to provide a FOGO service to all households by 2030.
Before FOGO mandated, we are trailing the service at a smaller scale to assist us in developing a suitable plan to roll out the service city-wide and ensure a smooth transition to FOGO for all residents.
Kitchen Caddy
Here are a few tips to keep your caddy free from fruit flies and odour:
- Keep your kitchen caddy away from direct sunlight. The best place to store your caddy is on your kitchen bench, under the sink or inside the fridge.
- Wash and rinse your caddy regularly after emptying. You can also put it in your dishwasher to clean it.
- Sprinkle bi-carb soda on the bottom of your caddy or line it with a thin layer of fibre-based paper (e.g. newspaper) to keep it dry and free of odours.
- Always keep the lid closed and leave the handle up to keep the lid locked.
- Wrap up food scraps with fibre-based paper (e.g. newspaper).
Lastly, the kitchen caddy belongs to the property you live in. If you move out, leave it on the kitchen bench.
Compostable liners
Compostable liner bags are the small bags that Council has provided to help you get started with this FOGO service. They are designed to fit the kitchen caddy tightly, so it doesn’t slip in once you add weight to it.
The kitchen caddy liners are made of corn starch and designed to break down with your food waste in the composting process. Because of this, the liner will breakdown faster when wet, therefore you want to avoid as much moisture and liquid as possible.
Here are a few tips to make your compostable caddy liners last longer:
- Freeze your food waste until you need to dispose of it before placing it in the liner.
- Allow hot food to cool down and wet food to drain before placing it in the caddy
- Sprinkle bi-carb soda on the bottom of your caddy or line it with a thin layer of fibre-based paper (e.g. newspaper) to keep it dry.
- Carry the kitchen caddy with your food waste rather than the liner alone. Liners are not necessary, and you can use your caddies by itself!
- Store your liners in a call and dry spot away from direct sunlight. The liners are perishable and have a short shelf-life (one year), so it’s important to store and handle them correctly.
- Replace caddy liners every two to three days.
If you are low or have run out of compostable liners, request from your building manager or fill out the form below.
There are many different types of caddy liners on the market. If you choose to purchase your own liners, ensure you look for Certified Compostable AS 4736 liners. Biodegradable bags are not accepted in your FOGO bin. Certified compostable bags feature this logo:
Translated Material
FOGO Brochures
Expansion of the FOGO Service
Council is expanding the FOGO trial to implement the FOGO service to additional apartment blocks and other multi-unit dwellings (MUDs) across the LGA. Any resident residing in an apartment building interested in implementing a FOGO service in their apartment building will need to obtain a strata committee and manager approval to be eligible. Anyone from a Owners Corporation, Strata committee, Estate or Building manager can fill out the Expression of Interest form below.
Benefits of implementing FOGO
Here are the main reasons why your property will benefit from joining the FOGO trial:
- Influence your future waste service that works for the community - Your participation in the trial, along with the results, feedback and requests you provide, will help shape our plan for rolling out FOGO across the entire city.
- Easier transition into the FOGO mandate for your property - Joining the trial would give your property more time and support to make a smooth transition to the FOGO service before the full state-wide mandate.
- Extra support from the Council during the trial - The trial is a time to learn about the effective methods to assist the community in adopting FOGO. During the trial, we will be able to provide extra support as we learn together.
How do we support you?
The trial is a time to learn about the effective methods to assist the community in adopting FOGO. We want to provide support to encourage positive behaviour change and the uptake of FOGO. Ways in which Council provides support are:
- Open to feedback, suggestions and concerns to personalise support - we want to identify what works and what doesn’t work for your building. This can be conducted through various forms such as online communications and on-site feedback sessions
- Community engagement sessions - we want as much opportunity to educate the community on-site and face-to-face though on-site information sessions, door-to-door knocks, or building meetings.
- Provide educational material and resources - we assess the nature of the building to determine the best way to present and provide educational material including posters, brochures, kitchen caddies, compostable liners, emails, letters, etc. Educational material can also be obtained in the next tab
See below some of the materials and resources we provide.
FOGO Resources
How to get involved, eligibility and requirements
Do you live in an apartment block? Are you interested in implementing a FOGO service to your apartment block? What is involved in the FOGO implementation?
Approval from the Owners Corporation, Strata Committee and/or Building Manager will be required as the service will involve all households in the property.
Interested residents, strata managers, building managers, or strata committees can register their interest in implementing the FOGO service by filling out the Expression of Interest FOGO form at the bottom of this page.
As part of the service, an ongoing education and communication program will be provided by Council to ensure a smooth implementation and use of the service.
You will receive:
- External use, green-lidded FOGO bin collected weekly
- Internal use, 7L kitchen caddy (for all residences)
- Internal use, 47L small FOGO bin which can be placed on each level (only if needed)
- An ongoing supply of compostable caddy liners
- Ongoing physical and digital education and communication resources for property residents.
Process to join the FOGO Trial
- Approval - Obtain approval from the Owners Corporation, Strata Management or other relevant management bodies approval for the property to join to FOGO Trial.
- Assessment - A Council officer will assess your application to determine the suitability of your property in the FOGO trial.
- Confirmation - If suitable, we will confirm that your property will join the FOGO trial.
- Community Engagement - A Council Officer will liaise with the property management to provide educational material and resources for the residents. The officer will also engage with the residents through letters, on-site information stalls and door knocks to education about the FOGO service and delivery of the Kitchen Caddies (FOGO Starter Pack)
- Commencement - FOGO collections will start once all the above have occurred.
If you are interested in your building to join the FOGO trial, submit the Expression of Interest Form below.