FOGO - Food Organics and Garden Organics

FOGO stands for Food Organics and Garden Organics.

Currently in Port Stephens our green lid bins only accept Garden Organics (GO). Port Stephens Council will introduce a weekly kerbside FOGO service for households in July 2027.

When FOGO begins, you’ll be able to place both food AND garden waste in your green lid bin. Your green lid bin will move to a weekly collection once FOGO starts.

All collected food and garden organics will be processed into nutrient‑rich compost for use in agriculture and landscaping. This is an important way for us to make a difference when it comes to protecting the environment and reducing unnecessary landfill waste.

FOGO will begin by July ‑2027 for all Port Stephens residents in:

• Houses
• Duplexes
• Townhouses
• Unit buildings with 30 or fewer dwellings.

The NSW Government requires all councils to provide a food organics recycling service to households by 2030 to help stop food waste going to landfill. This commitment is part of the broader Australian Government’s net-zero commitment.

All households in the Port Stephens Local Government Area will receive a FOGO collection service. This will include a free FOGO starter pack, featuring a kitchen caddy to collect your food scraps, the first year's supply of environmentally certified compostable liners, and easy to understand information and guides about the new service.

To make this happen, FOGO (green lid) bins will transition to weekly collection to ensure food waste is collected regularly for continued health and safety reasons. We need to decide on a weekly or fortnightly collection service for general waste (red lid) bin and we want to hear from you.

This switch will occur from July 2027 in partnership with the City of Newcastle. We will continue to update you as we progress through this process.

The change will significantly reduce the amount of food waste going to landfill.

It’s estimated that across the state we will together stop around 950,000 tonnes of FOGO waste going to landfill each year. This is the equivalent of the weight of over 24,000 humpback whales migrating along our coast!

It also contributes to what is known as a circular economy, where products that used to be considered as waste are recycled into valued products  such as compost. It will also reduce landfill greenhouse gas emissions.

No. Your current garden organics (green lid) bin will become your FOGO bin.

You’ll be able to place both food scraps and garden organics in your green lid bin once the FOGO service starts from July 2027. Until then, your green lid bin is for garden organics only.

Yes. Before the service begins, each household will be delivered a free:

• Kitchen caddy to collect your food scraps;
• Starter supply of compostable caddy liners; and
• Information pack on how to easily use the service.

Replacement liners will also be available after the service rollout.

Only the following materials will be allowed in the FOGO (green lid) bin:

• Food waste, such as scraps, leftovers, including meat and dairy.
• Garden waste such as grass clippings, leaves and pruning.
• Compostable kitchen caddy liners that comply with Australian Standards for composting.
• Fibre-based kitchen caddy liners such as newspaper  .

Once the FOGO service starts, all household food scraps will move from your general waste (red lid) bin to your weekly FOGO (green lid) bin.

Since food scraps make up the bulk of household waste weight, your general waste (red lid) bin will fill up much more slowly and contain very little odorous material. Moving to a fortnightly general waste (red lid) bin collection cycle helps keep the overall waste service affordable for ratepayers while still meeting community needs.

The frequency of the general waste (red lid) bin collection directly impacts the cost of running our waste services .

A weekly general waste (red lid) bin collection requires more trucks, fuel and staff on the road, making it more expensive to operate. A fortnightly general waste (red lid) bin collection is a more cost-effective option.

Once the FOGO service starts, all household food scraps will move from your general waste (red lid) bin to your weekly FOGO (green lid) bin. Since food scraps make up a significant portion of household waste, your general waste (red lid) bin will fill up much more slowly and contain very little odorous material. Moving to a fortnightly general waste (red lid) bin helps keep the overall waste service affordable for ratepayers while still meeting community needs.

Final waste charges will be determined closer to the launch from July 2027 based on the service model influenced by your feedback.

Your annual domestic waste management charge covers the entire waste ecosystem, including:

• The red lid, green lid, and yellow lid bins,
• Public litter bins,
• Kerbside collections and processing facilities.

A weekly general waste (red lid) bin collection requires more trucks, fuel and staff on the road, making it more expensive to operate. A fortnightly red bin collection is a more cost-effective option.

Final waste charges will be determined closer to the launch from July 2027 based on the service model influenced by your feedback.

No, provided food waste is managed correctly. Smells, flies, and maggots can be attracted to rotting food scraps and meat. Because the FOGO (green lid) bin will be collected every week all your food waste will be removed from your home each week.

Your red bin will contain only dry, non-perishable general waste that does not attract pests or cause bad odours for a fortnight.

Before FOGO rolls out from July 2027, Council will provide you with information and education to help you determine your waste amount.

Up to 45% of the average red bin's contents is currently food waste. By moving all food scraps, leftovers, peelings, bones, etc into the weekly FOGO (green lid) bin, the volume of waste left in your red bin will shrink significantly. This will ensure a fortnightly collection of general waste (red lid) bins works for most homes.

Council will provide service options for households that ultimately need to have a weekly service to manage their waste. This will include the option for residents to receive a weekly service.

The usual fees associated with these additional services will not apply for at least the first year after the FOGO service is introduced.

We understand that nappies and pet waste are a concern for many residents. We want to share some insights from other councils that have introduced FOGO services.

Research by Lake Macquarie Council shows that odours from nappies peak after 3 days. This means the smell does not get worse after this time. The smell will be the same whether red lid bins are collected weekly or fortnightly. You can reduce the smell by wrapping nappies in a plastic bag and storing your bin in a shady spot.

Whether the waste bin continues to be collected weekly or transitions to a fortnightly service, we will offer supportive options for households that need extra help. This may include flexible collection options and support for reusable alternatives.

General rates and waste charges are completely separate fees on your council bill.

• General Rates: This money pays for shared public spaces, like roads, parks, libraries, and footpaths.
• Waste Charges: This is a direct "user-pays" fee that only covers your bins and waste recycling services.

Because these two budgets are kept separate by law, waste services have no impact on your general rates. This means that getting less waste services will not lower or change your general rates.

Home composting is fantastic and we encourage you to keep doing it!

Standard backyard compost bins typically can’t process bones, meat, seafood, dairy or large amounts of citrus without attracting pests.

The commercial composting facilities used for Council’s FOGO service operate at much higher temperatures meaning you can safely use your FOGO (green lid) bin for the heavy food items your home compost can't handle. So hopefully a win-win.

NSW has a statewide mandate for Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) recycling, to reduce food waste and stop food waste going to landfill. As part of this, new laws are being introduced which will require businesses or institutions that sell or handle food, like supermarkets, cafes, schools and hotels, to separate food waste from general waste.   

While these changes formally begin across NSW on 1 July 2026, our local business community qualifies for an automatic temporary exemption. Because Port Stephens LGA is outside Greater Sydney and Council does not yet provide a household residential FOGO service, local businesses are exempt from the mandate until at least 1 July 2028. 

Even with the exemption in place, we encourage local businesses to start considering food waste initiatives to reduce landfill and save on waste costs. Visit the NSW EPA website for more details and resources. You can also contact your commercial waste provider for more information.

Over the coming months and year, we will be raising awareness and providing information and advice so this change can be as easy and convenient as possible for you. We know you have enough to worry about and so we want to make it easy.

Our team will also be available at pop-up stalls at community events, markets and other public places, providing an opportunity to learn more about FOGO and have your questions answered.

We will also provide information through our website, mailouts, media and social media.

If there is something more, we can do to make these easy for you let us know.