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Food Organics & Garden Organics (FOGO)

The kerbside green-lid (FOGO) bin is available to help you responsibly dispose of food scraps, garden waste and certified compostable packaging. NAWMA collects the contents of your green-lid FOGO bin every two weeks for composting with our partner, IWS. This compost is reused to improve soil quality in gardens, farms and large-scale horticulture.

How to get your free FOGO bin

  • If you live in the City of Salisbury, Playford or Town of Gawler and do not already have a FOGO bin, you can request a free 240 L or 140 L FOGO bin for food and garden waste. Order your FOGO bin here.
  • A second FOGO bin can be purchased if required, please note that an additional yearly bin registration fee applies for City of Playford and Town of Gawler residents to have two FOGO bins collected each fortnight. City of Salisbury residents can have a second FOGO bin collected each fortnight, free of charge.
  • Bin collection occurs fortnightly — on the alternate week to the yellow-lid recycling bin.
  • If you have a large amount of garden waste, you can drop it off at a NAWMA Resource Recovery Centre (fees apply).

Why it matters

  • When organic material such as food scraps, decompose in landfills, it produces methane – a dangerous and potent greenhouse gas.
  • By using the FOGO bin for all your food and garden waste, you are reducing the amount of waste you send to landfill and helping to return valuable nutrients to soil — which are used to grow healthy plants, gardens and crops.

How to use your kitchen caddy:

When you order a FOGO bin through NAWMA, you receive a ventilated kitchen caddy to collect food scraps in the kitchen. Using your caddy is simple:

  1. Line your kitchen caddy with a certified compostable bag, or paper (NEVER use ordinary plastic or ‘biodegradable’ plastic bags)
  2. Place all your food scraps in your kitchen caddy
  3. Remove the bag (with contents) every two or three days, and tie a knot in the top
  4. Place the bag into your food and organics bin (green bin) and place it out for normal collection, even if it’s not full

Note: you do not need to use your kitchen caddy, compostable bags or liners to collect food scraps and can put them straight into the green bin loose if preferred.

What CAN go in your FOGO bin?

If it grows, it’s good to go. All food scraps can go into your caddy, including:

Compostable Material
AS 5810

What CAN’T go in your FOGO bin?

Any items that will not completely break down in a compost system cannot go into the FOGO bin, including:

Tips to keep your bin and caddy from smelling

  • Empty your kitchen caddy every 2-3 days (compostable bags will break down quickly).
  • Place newspaper or paper towel at the bottom of your caddy to absorb liquids.
  • Keep your FOGO bin out of direct sun and ensure the lid stays closed.
  • Layer garden waste, cardboard or shredded paper under food scraps to absorb moisture.
  • Freeze meat or fish scraps until bin night.
  • Rinse or wash your FOGO bin and caddy regularly.
  • After emptying, sprinkle baking soda, or add natural deodorisers (e.g. lemon juice, vinegar, tea tree oil) before closing the lid.
Father standing near kerbside FOGO bin with two children. The father is holding the lid to the bin open and one child is dropping a compostable bag with food scraps into the bin. The other child is holding a ventilated kitchen caddy lined with a compostable bag.
Place your food scraps into a kitchen caddy lined with compostable bags to reduce odours