Frequently Asked Questions
FOGO stands for ‘Food Organics and Garden Organics’ and is the green-lid bin at home. Anything that grows (or once grew) belongs in the green-lid FOGO bin, most importantly FOOD! This includes all food waste (including meat, fish, bones, dairy/eggs, fruit, vegetables, and bread), soiled paper products (shredded paper, paper towel, tissues, and pizza boxes), Australian certified compostable packaging, and all garden organics (e.g. grass clippings and hedge trimmings). Material placed in the green-lid FOGO bin is collected by SOLO and taken to a commercial composting facility where it is turned into compost.
The trial is a change in the frequency to the collection of green and blue/red bins in the Monday collection area and includes the townships of Echunga, Macclesfield and Meadows as well as surrounding rural areas.
Township properties:
- 140L Landfill (blue/red) bin collected fortnightly
- 240L FOGO (green) bin collected weekly
- 240L Recycling (yellow) bin collected fortnightly (no change)
Rural Properties:
- 140L Landfill (blue/red) bin collected fortnightly
- 240L FOGO (green) bin collected fortnightly
- 240L Recycling (yellow) bin collected fortnightly (no change)
The trial will cover the whole of the Monday bin collection zone. This includes approximately 2,300 residential properties and businesses.
| All food scraps are good to FOGO: | You can also include: |
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Remember ‘if it grows, it goes!” |
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Only Australian-certified compostable bags can be used in the green bin/FOGO bin.
Cardboard items include:
- Unwaxed, plastic free cardboard (remove any tape and plastic)
- Pizza Boxes (including food scrapes)
- Egg cartons
Council is committed to improving environmental sustainability and diverting waste from landfill, aligning with Council and State Government landfill reduction targets.
Material placed in the green FOGO bin is collected by our contractors, SOLO and taken to Peats commercial composting facility in Langhorne Creek where it is turned into compost for growing our food and improving our soils.
All current 2 bin properties (rural and commercial) included in the trial will receive a new green FOGO bin. All 3 bin properties should already have one but if you don't, please contact Council to discuss your options.
Please contact us on 8391 7200 to discuss.
All serviced properties within the trial area (Monday collection) including rural and township properties will be included in the trial. Properties who do not wish to present a green bin each week, may choose to do so, but they will not receive a weekly waste service or reduced service fees.
It is the responsibility of the resident at the property to present the correct bins for emptying. If you have missed putting the bin out for collection, you will need to wait until the following collection. If a bin is missed by the truck and was presented on time to the kerb in the correct location, this needs to be reported to SOLO and a return will be arranged for it to be emptied. Please report a missed bin via the online missed bin form.
Residents can utilise the service at Windmill Hill Transfer Station to dispose of additional rubbish at the appropriate costs.
Utilising food scraps and organic material on your own property in an appropriate composting system or to feed animals is encouraged as it improves soil quality and can provide good feed for animals. The green bin can be used for excess material and food scraps that you wouldn’t compost, such as animal waste, dairy products and bones.
The waste service charges are a separate charge to rates. This allows the ability for a user pays system where if a property wants an additional bin, they can pay the additional annual fee. Refer to the additional kerbside bins page for more information.
Vented kitchen caddies are designed to optimise the collection of food organics by allowing air to circulate around the compostable liner. This ventilation helps moisture escape, reducing condensation and minimizing unpleasant smells, which encourages households to consistently separate organic waste from general rubbish. The caddies and bags are designed to be emptied regularly e.g. every second day and contents that go in them should be drained of excess liquid.
A weekly FOGO collection means you can send all your food scraps to be composted without having to worry about smell or waiting another week for collection.
If you’re worried about the smell of nappies and other hygiene products:
- Dispose of as much solid waste into the toilet as possible
- Wrap dirty nappies and hygiene products in a tightly closed plastic bag
- Try reusable nappies or hygiene products, even for part of the time
- Store your blue/red landfill bin the shade
- Make sure the lid closes properly
- Rinse food containers before placing in the recycling bin
- Place a small amount of odour control in the bottom of your bin such as vinegar, eucalyptus or mint oils.
Your blue/red landfill bin should only be used for items that cannot be recycled or composted. Make sure you are recycling and composting everything you can.
Check the A-Z of Recycling to see if it should go in the yellow recycling or green FOGO bins.
You can dispose of bulky waste by booking a hard waste collection, or utilise the services provided at Windmill Hill Transfer Station.
Soft plastics take up a particularly large space in our bins. Soft plastics can now be dropped off for recycling at both Woolworths stores in Mount Barker. Alternatively, to reduce space in your bin, squish the soft plastics down into a bag until you can tie the bag closed. This also helps prevent them flying out of the bin when it is emptied.
Try to avoid soft plastics by purchasing unpackaged items where possible, using compostable or reusable bags and buying items in recyclable packaging (i.e. paper, metal, glass or hard plastic).
You will automatically be included in the trial. We'd love for you to give the weekly FOGO collection a go and we're here to support you. Contact Council if you would like further information on how to participate.
Participant feedback, environmental outcomes, waste tonnage data and financial implications will be evaluated and presented to council to assess the success of the trial.
Areas where bins are collected Mondays were chosen for the trial for a range of reasons. There’s an even split between serviced properties with two bins (1,144) and three bins (1,223) which helps us evaluate the trial effectively. Also, choosing an area where bins are collected at the start of the week means there’s time for any missed bins to be collected if needed. Other areas in the district were considered for the trial but weren’t deemed suitable due to a number of factors. These factors included areas under construction, large collection numbers, predominant urban properties, significant tourist activity and contractor resources.
It’s great you support weekly FOGO, however, we are currently unable to expand the trial area.
Please continue to put all your FOGO waste into the green bin and encourage others to do the same.
If you are interested in helping promote weekly FOGO we would love to have you on board. You can:
- Talk to your neighbours, friends and family about why you support weekly FOGO.
- Be involved in our promotion to help spread the word. This could be a photo opportunity, interview or short video on why you support FOGO.
If you are interested in showing your support, please contact us on 8391 7200 or email fogo@mountbarker.sa.gov.au.
The weekly FOGO trial will provide an additional 240 litres of disposal capacity for organics per week. If this is now adequate for your needs and you no longer require an additional bin service. Please contact us on 8391 7200.
If you wish to keep your additional green bin permit, you can have it emptied weekly during the trial.