Western Australian processors, in collaboration with local governments, are making an important adjustment to what can go in FOGO to make sorting easier and help create cleaner compost.

Using your FOGO bin only for food scraps and garden waste reduces the need for resource-intensive sorting, reduces contamination risks and improves processing efficiency to create quality FOGO-derived compost and products. This helps facilities run efficiently and supports market confidence in FOGO-derived compost.

If you previously added compostable food or drink containers, tea bags, tissues, paper towels, food-soiled cardboard or animal droppings to your FOGO bin, these must now go in your general waste bin. Clean paper and cardboard packaging can go in your yellow-lidded recycling bin.

Read the Waste Authority’s position statement on FOGO 

You may notice a small increase in what goes into your red-lidded general waste bin, and this will vary between households.

Putting all food scraps and garden waste in your lime-green FOGO bin, and all recyclables in your yellow-lidded recycling bin, can maximise space in your red-lidded general waste bin.

If you are experiencing difficulty fitting all your waste into your bins on a regular basis, contact the City's Waste Management team to discuss.

The City promotes waste avoidance as the most effective approach to dealing with waste, and offers a Cloth Nappy rebate alongside running various waste avoidance workshops, such as making your own beeswax wraps and waste-free bathroom and beauty products.

For more tips about waste avoidance for your household, visit the WasteSorted website.

Environment House offer a refillery for household chemicals.

These items should go in your red-lidded general waste bin.

You can also choose low-waste options, such as trying reusable alternatives for tissues, paper towels and single-use takeaway containers or switching to loose-leaf tea.

Animal droppings, including pet poo and kitty litter, need to go in the general waste bin.

This is a precautionary measure because animal droppings can carry parasites and pathogens that may not be reliably destroyed during the composting process.

Although only a small number of households previously used the FOGO bin for animal droppings, removing it completely helps ensure the compost stays clean and suitable for use in gardens, parks and farms.

Bagging animal droppings tightly helps keep smells contained in your general waste bin.

A few small changes can help reduce household bin odours. Bag and tie items such as nappies, animal droppings and hygiene products before placing them in the general waste bin, and store bins in a shaded area, where possible.

Empty your kitchen caddy regularly, keep your outdoor bins clean and dry, and place wet food scraps in the FOGO bin as close as practical to collection day.

For more tips, refer to WasteSorted's Managing Odours Informational flyer. 

Kerbside FOGO processing systems can’t reliably distinguish between certified compostable and non-certified packaging.

Some packaging can introduce contamination from plastics, coatings and chemicals of concern. Limiting what goes into FOGO reduces the risk of contamination from products that are not compostable.

For this reason, all non-recyclable packaging, including compostable cups, containers and trays, must go in the general waste bin.

Avoiding waste and choosing reusables, wherever possible, is best.

No. Newspaper, paper towels and other paper products are no longer accepted in FOGO. Some paper and cardboard products may contain PFAS and other chemicals. To help keep FOGO clean, paper and cardboard products are no longer accepted.

If you want to line your caddy, use certified compostable caddy liners with the AS 4736 seedling logo. These are accepted in FOGO because they are designed to specifically help households collect food scraps and have been assessed as suitable for use in FOGO systems.

You can also use your kitchen caddy without a liner and rinse it out after emptying food scraps into your FOGO bin.

Shredded paper should now go in your red-lidded general waste bin. It is no longer accepted in the FOGO bin as some paper products may contain coatings or additives that are not suitable for compost.

While paper can usually be recycled, shredded paper is too small and light to be sorted properly at recycling facilities. Placing it in general waste helps keep both recycling and FOGO streams clean and effective.

Some people choose to compost paper products at home. Because you control what goes into your home compost system, you can choose to compost uncoated paper products that do not contain inks or dyes.

If you compost at home, make sure any certified compostable products meet the Australian home composting standard (AS 5810) and display the home compost logo or certification number.

Yes, your FOGO bin contents are turned into Australian Standard certified compost at a licenced commercial facility. By keeping your FOGO bin contamination-free, you help support investment in WA’s organics recycling sector and help create quality compost.

Cleaner feedstock helps improve compost quality for farms, parks, local governments and soil rehabilitation projects. High-quality compost improves market confidence and supports investment in WA’s organics recycling sector.

If your question hasn't been answered, get in touch with the City's Waste Management team by emailing fogo@bayswater.wa.gov.au or calling 9272 0622.