FOGO FAQs

All properties within the Burnie Inzone service area (outside of the CBD) will receive a FOGO bin in addition to recycling and landfill waste to ensure everyone in the zone can access the service.

Every inzone property contributes to this kerbside collection as part of a shared investment in Burnie’s future. Even if your property doesn’t use every service, your contribution helps reduce landfill, protect our environment, and create a cleaner, greener community for all.

FOGO is cost-neutral in your rates as waste collections will be fortnightly, and there is no waste Levy on FOGO materials.

Council has worked hard to develop an optimised collection model where these is no additional cost to ratepayers in the inzone who have previously had a waste and recycling collection.

The new 240L FOGO bin complements the landfill and recycling bins by allowing for more effective handling of household waste, diverting organic material away from landfill.  

Your 240L 3-bin suite will now include: 

1. Red lid - Landfill
2. Yellow-lid: recycling
3. Green Lid: FOGO - Food organics and garden organics products  

Alternating Fogo one week,
Waste and Recycling together the next week.

New red and green lid bins will be delivered to your property entrance from 1–19 September

🌿 FOGO collection starts 29 September, alternating fortnightly with landfill + recycling.

A fortnightly schedule keeps costs down, ensuring no increased collection fees for ratepayers. It has proven to work successfully in other Tasmanian councils. 

We understand that a shift to fortnightly waste collection can feel like a big change for some, so we have a few supports in place to help everyone manage: 

• Use the correct bins for each type of waste.  
• Take additional waste to the Waste Transfer Station when needed, in addition to recoveragle waste, residents can show their ID to dispose of 100kg to landfill for free per visit.

You can put food and organic garden waste in your FOGO bin.

✅ Food waste includes vegetable peelings, fruit, cooked food, leftovers, meat and bones, seafood waste, dairy and citrus.  

✅ Garden organics such as lawn clippings, weeds, vegie patch waste, flowers and small branches can also be added to the bin.

Our A-Z guide of what can go into your FOGO bin will be in the information kit when the bin is delivered and on NWRRR website.

nwrrr.com.au/guide

NO GO FOGO -  These items must go in your General Landfill Waste, not the FOGO Bin:

⛔️ Soil, concrete, gravel, rocks, ceramics, building materials, fireplace ash
⛔️ Metal, tins and cans, foil
⛔️ Textiles
⛔️ General waste or recycling
⛔️ Plastic, cling wrap, takeaway containers

⛔️ No bags, biodegradable or composable bags, loose is lovely

⛔️ Nappies, Road kill, pet waste, and dead animals are unsuitable due to pathogen health risks

Hot Tips:  If you're unsure, keep it out!

Separate food waste from containers so only food waste goes in FOGO.

If the container is recyclable, give it a rinse and it can go into the yellow/recycling bin.

Our A-Z guide of what can go into your FOGO bin will be in the information kit when the bin is delivered and on NWRRR website.

nwrrr.com.au/guide

Like any waste bin, depending on the waste, it may develop odors. Here’s how to minimize them:

• Keep your bin in the shade if possible and always keep the lid shut
• Layer your food waste with garden waste such as lawn clippings and leaf litter or cardboard/waste paper
• Rinse you bin out regularly and let it dry completely
• Freeze fish and meat waste, and put in your FOGO bin just as you put it out for collection
• Use a sprinkling of bicarbonate soda to deodorise your bin
• Offer a helping hand to anyone in the community, such as an elderly neighbour, who may struggle to manage this  

Loose is lovely 🍂🍃🥀🍕🍌🍗🦴🍊

To reduce the risk of contamination, please do not use any bin liner in your FOGO bin, simply put your scraps loose into a container to carry out and empty it into, the FOGO bin.

• Line your kitchen container with a paper towel or newspaper.
• Place newspaper or cardboard at the bottom of your bin to prevent waste from sticking.

 All bagged FOGO waste will be rejected at the initial contamination sorting point.

Instead of providing caddies, we’re keeping costs down and giving you the freedom to choose what works best for your property, thus reducing the resources needed for FOGO.

You can easily collect kitchen scraps using items you already have, this way, you can find a solution that fits your kitchen space and lifestyle while reducing waste.

• A plastic container (e.g., Tupperware or ice cream tub)
• A small bucket

Do you already compost / have a worm farm / feed food scrap to chickens?

Great! You will find the FOGO service complements your current system,

You will be able to process larger quantities of garden organics and ‘harder to compost items’ such as: dairy, meat, bones, bread, grains, citrus and kitchen oils. 

The organic material is collected as part of the North West Resource Recovery and Recycling (NWRRR) service and transferred to the Dulverton Waste Management composting facility.

At the facility, it is composted to Australian Standard AS 4454 for composts, soil conditioners and mulches.

The finished compost material is purchased by nurseries and farms to build soil health and produce more food, closing the loop from table to paddock and back to the plate.

Dulverton Organic Compost is available for sale from retail outlets across Tasmania: 

Complete Quarry and Landscaping

5 Massy-Greene Drive, SOUTH BURNIE 
Ph: (03) 6464 0739 

West Park Plants Plus

63 West Park Grove, BURNIE 
Ph: (03) 6431 9730

Cape View Nursery

15385 Bass Highway, SOMERSET 
Ph: (03) 6435 1391 

GW Landscaping Supplies

804 South Road, PENGUIN 
Ph: (03) 6437 0700 

In short, minimal risks arise if done correctly.

EPA SA reported that landfills have a harsh impact on the environment and human health due to landfill gas, odour, litter, vermin, dust and leachate. By diverting waste to FOGO, we are reducing the need to create future landfills for a growing population.

It is the community's responsibility to follow FOGO instructions to ensure the correct items are put into FOGO bins to ensure no contamination occurs. Equally important, maintaining a clean bin and personal hygiene such as washing hands after handling your waste or the bin is simple to avoid the risk.

Once the bins are picked up, tests will be performed at every stage of the composting process to ensure contaminants aren’t found in the final product. 

In short, FOGO is a great step, but reducing food waste is even better. Try these tips:

• Plan meals and shop with a list.
• Check expiry dates and rotate food in your fridge.
• Use leftovers creatively or freeze them.
• Explore food waste reduction tips online, Google “avoid food waste” for ideas!

FOGO is one simple thing you can do with your waste that will make a big difference for the environment. However, reducing food waste in the first place is crucial. A lot of energy, water, financial and natural resources go into the production of the food we buy and what we waste. Reducing your food waste in the first place will not only help the environment but also save you money.

Unfortunately, No. All property types within the Burnie FOGO inzone collection area will receive a FOGO bin to ensure everyone has access to the service.

Every in-zone property contributes as part of a shared investment in Burnie’s future. Even if your property doesn’t use every service, your contribution helps reduce landfill, protect our environment, and create a cleaner, greener community for all.

This service is being rolled out to around 38,000 households across the North West, and together we can make a big difference in reducing waste to landfill. 

In short, like recycling, FOGO processing costs more than the revenue from selling compost. Councils cover processing fees, while compost sales help reduce costs. Dulverton is owned by local councils, meaning any profits return to the community.

Burnie is rolling out a standard 3-bin service (waste, recycling, and FOGO) to all properties within the defined collection zone starting from 29 September 2025. This approach ensures consistency and efficiency across the community. 

In Burnie’s CBD, each tenement currently receives a single Council-rated waste collection bin,with bundled cardboard collected weekly on Tuesdays. FOGO and recycling bins will not berolled out in the CBD in September 2025. The standard 3-bin system presents challenges in thisarea, including limited storage and restricted kerbside presentation space. Instead, Council willexplore alternative waste management models as part of the CBD urban redesign project overthe coming years, with the aim of developing practical solutions for businesses that align withregional waste initiatives.

In Burnie all properties within the inzone (outside of the CBD) will receive the same fortnightly 3-bin service. 

Some properties may generate waste volumes or types that exceed the scope of this standard collection, options for these proerties include: 

• Residents can present their ID to drop off up to 100kg of general waste per visit at the Burnie Waste Management Centre free of charge
• Additional private arrangements with waste contractors may be required, such as larger bins, skips, or more frequent collections.  Commercial Waste Operators provide flexible 240lt or 660lt skip collection options for landfill waste, recycling, paper, or cardboard throughout the region.

• Tassie Waste | (03) 6433 1999 
• Veolia | (03) 6427 4646  
• JJ Richards | (03) 6341 2200 
• Cleanaway | 13 13 39 

Council is committed to encouraging a local competitive waste collection market for additional waste and cardboard collection services, inside and outside the collection zone, on a fee-for-service basis from commercial waste operators.