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, mostly 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 East Waste and taken to a commercial composting facility where it is turned into compost and mulch.

All food scraps are good to FOGO:

• All fruits and vegetables including citrus
• Meat and Bones
• Dairy
• Seafood
• Egg shells
• Teabags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
• Breads and cake
• Cooked and processed food
• Rice and pasta

Remember ‘if it grows, it goes!”

You can also include:

• Tissues
• Paper towel and serviettes
• Hair, including pet hair
• Pizza boxes
• Shredded paper
• Straw/hay
• Pet poo
• Australian-certified compostable food packaging
• Paper/cardboard food packaging (without a plastic liner)
• Bamboo or bagasse food packaging
• Bamboo and wooden cutlery

Only Australian-certified compostable bags can be used in the green bin/FOGO bin. Biodegradable bags should NOT be used in the FOGO bins as these disintegrate into micro-plastics.

Council is committed to improving environmental sustainability and diverting waste from landfill, aligning with State Government landfill reduction targets.

Whilst there are many positive outcomes of implementing a more sustainable kerbside service, the key benefits are:

• reduced smell from the green bins by weekly emptying
• increased food recycling rates (as evidenced by our earlier trial)
• residents get 13% (or 100L) more bin capacity each fortnight
• reduced greenhouse gas emissions (from less food rotting in landfill)
• helps grow the circular economy in South Australia through the processing and return of nutrient-rich compost back to our agricultural and backyard soils
• supports more local jobs; FOGO processing requires 6.1 full-time jobs per 10,000 tonnes vs only 2.8 for landfill

We recognise that not all households are the same, that's why we have provided some flexibility for households with special requirements. If you have bin capacity or other concerns, please call us on 8408 0400 or email: mail@ahc.sa.gov.au, so we can work with you to find a solution.

In terms of cost, sending waste to landfill is over three times more expensive than the cost of processing organics into compost. By placing your food waste into the FOGO bin, landfill volumes and associated spending on the SA Waste Levy and landfill fees are reduced. The environmental benefits of weekly FOGO can be achieved at minimal additional cost to the community.

When organic matter breaks down in landfill it creates methane, a greenhouse gas that is 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The emissions associated with an additional bin truck are insignificant compared to the methane emissions saving made from the switch to weekly FOGO. A truck filled with 25 tonnes of Food and Garden Organics (FOGO) can be driven 15,444km to a composting facility before it emits the same amount of greenhouse gases as that same truckload put into landfill.

When food and garden organic waste is sent to landfill it rots and releases methane, a harmful greenhouse gas with 25 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. At the Adelaide Hills Council we are committed to reducing waste that goes into landfill bins and we need your help do to that. Recovered food and garden organic waste can be turned into valuable nutrient rich products (compost and mulch) which help increase soil quality and water retention. Diverting these items from landfill also creates jobs and reduces disposal costs.

• Reducing landfill greenhouse gas emissions
• Assisting in growing the circular economy through the processing and return of nutrient-rich compost back to our South Australian soil
• Creating more compost for growing our food
• Potential cost savings by diverting waste from landfill
• Reducing smell from the green FOGO bins, by collecting food and garden organics on a weekly basis
• Increasing food recycling rates
• Providing more bin capacity each fortnight.

Adelaide Hills Council offers its residents a number of options to encourage and enable recycling of food and garden organic waste.

• Food and garden organics bins (FOGO bins) are collected from households in township areas (approx. 10,500 households) and sent to a commercial composting facility.
• Free green organic drop off days are held throughout the year, across three sites.
• Residents without FOGO kerbside bins, (predominantly outside of township boundary areas), are still eligible to receive two vouchers per financial year to dispose of organics at the Heathfield Resource Recovery Centre.

At the Council Meeting held on 12 May 2026, Council resolved to continue the current Tuesday kerbside collection systems across both rural and township areas and to formally notify East Waste that Council wishes to expand its weekly FOGO trial to all township properties, beginning in FY27/28.

You can download the free My Local Services app for the collection calendar and bin collection reminders: www.localcouncils.sa.gov.au/my-local-services-app