FOGO Collection FAQ's

Did you know around 40% of Burnie’s kerbside waste is food and garden organics? When sent to landfill, this material breaks down and produces methane, a harmful greenhouse gas.

To help divert this waste, the Tasmanian Government introduced a landfill levy in 2022. FOGO waste is exempt from this levy, which encourages recycling organics and funds new waste innovation projects.

With the levy expected to rise from $20 per tonne in 2022 to around $70 per tonne by mid-2026, reducing landfill waste saves both money and the environment.

♻️ Turning Waste into Opportunity

By collecting FOGO separately where we live, work, and play, Burnie can divert about 1,250 tonnes of organic waste from landfill each year, cutting emissions, saving on levy costs, and creating a cleaner, greener community.

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No bags - Loose is lovely and layer up!  🍉🍊🍌🍞🍖🥚🦐🌿🍁🍂🥬🪵

To keep our FOGO (Food Organics & Garden Organics) compost clean and safe, please do not use any bin liners. Simply place your scraps loose into a container or paper bag and then empty them directly into your FOGO bin.

⚠️ Important:
All bagged FOGO waste will be rejected at the contamination sorting stage. Bags can be mistaken for the wrong material, may hide contaminants, or introduce chemicals that harm workers, soil, and compost 

💡Tips for easier FOGO handling:

• Line your kitchen caddy with a paper towel or newspaper.
• Use a paper shopping bag to collect kitchen scraps
• Place newspaper or cardboard at the bottom of your FOGO bin to prevent organic from sticking.

🚫 Why no Compostable or Biodegradable bags? 

Contamination is hand-picked from each collection load. Because sorters can’t confirm what each bag is made from, all bags and liners are removed and sent to landfill.

Even when labelled as compostable or biodegradable, most bags still contain microplastics or “forever chemicals” (PFAS, PFOA) that contaminate compost and the environment.

Dulverton Waste Management has made the decision not to accept any biodegradable or compostable plastics to protect our soils, waterways, and future compost quality.

🌱 Let’s keep chemicals and plastics out of our compost.

Thank you for helping turn local food and garden scraps into high-quality compost for our farms, nurseries, schools, and gardens.

Loose is Lovely! Layer up!

Tip food scraps from your reusable kitchen container, or paper shopping bag, straight into the FOGO bin.

Food Waste:

✅ All vegetable, fruit and food scraps, including citrus and onions
✅ Cooked, spoiled or raw food
✅ Meat, bones, seafood, eggs, eggshells,
✅ Dairy, milk, cheese, yoghurt 
✅ Bread, rice, cakes, pasta
✅ Coffee grounds, loose tea
✅ Soiled paper towels, tissues, shredded paper
✅ Food-soiled cardboard pizza, takeaway boxes and paper packaging

Garden waste: 

✅ Lawn clippings, leaves, flowers, weeds (including noxious) 
✅ Veggie patch scraps, small branches 
✅ Prunings, small branches (under 30cm long & 10cm thick)
✅ Untreated wood chips, sawdust

If in doubt, leave it out!

💡 Pro Tip: Line the bottom of your bin with newspaper, a paper bag, or cardboard to soak up any leaks and prevent waste from sticking to the bottom.

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✔️ Seasonal excess or larger quantities of garden organics
✔️ Weeds
✔️ Larger garden waste items that take longer to break down

✔️ Food scraps that are problematic to compost at home, such as dairy, meat, bones, bread, grains, citrus, seeds, pips, and kitchen oils.

Using FOGO for these items keeps your home compost break down more quickly, reduces rodents and odours, and helps provide input to high-quality compost for farms and gardens across the region.

Not if you follow these few handy tips:

🧊  Freeze meat & seafood scraps, then bin them on collection day
📰  Use paper to wrap scraps and line bin
🧽  Use a sprinkling of bicarbonate soda to deodorise your bin
🌿  Layer food waste with garden clippings
💦  Rinse your bin regularly & keep it dry
🕶️  Keep your bin in the shade where possible

Contamination in FOGO can harm the people who sort it by hand. Sharp objects, plastics, or hazardous items put workers at risk of injury, illness, and stress.

NO GO FOGO - Please do not put these in your FOGO Bin:

❌ No Bags – not even compostable bags.
All bags are rejected because we can’t be sure what they are made from, or what’s inside. Bags or their contents may introduce chemicals or contamination, affecting soil quality.

Materials for the Waste Centre
🚫 Soil, large branches, heavy logs
🚫 Concrete, rocks, gravel, ceramics
🚫 Metals
🚫 Treated timber, building materials 

Materials for your Recycle Bin
🚫 Recyclables, glass, tins, cans, foil

Materials for your Landfill Bin

🚫 Tetrapaks (e.g. milk, juice cartons)
🚫 Bags, plastic wrappers, cling wrap
🚫 Coffee cups 
🚫 Textiles

Products containing traces of plastics or chemicals 
🚫 Biodegradable liners or containers
🚫 PLA #7 takeaway containers 
🚫 materials that are non-stick, grease proof, repels water, or stain-resistant.
🚫 Tea bags or coffee bags/filters (with chemical sealants)

Biosecurity pathogens or health risk Items
🚫 Pet waste or kitty litter
🚫 Dead animals or roadkill
🚫 Nappies and Sanitary products
🚫 Fireplace Ash (may contain toxic chemicals if you burn treated timber, coal, plastic or any other non-wood products)

ℹ️ If in doubt, keep it out and pop it in your landfill bin.

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🌱Let’s keep chemicals and plastics out of our fogo to ensure high-quality compost for our farms, nurseries, schools and gardens.

🐾 Pet Waste

Please don’t put pet waste or kitty litter in your FOGO bin.

Pet waste can carry bacteria and parasites that pose health risks to workers and make compost unsafe for gardens and food production.

🦘 Roadkill or Dead Animals

These are not food or garden organics. Dead animals can spread disease and create serious biosecurity and safety concerns.

They also create a distressing and unsafe situation for staff who remove contamination by hand.

🌱Let’s keep our compost clean, safe, and healthy for local farms and gardens. 

Many common tea bags can’t go in your FOGO bin because they contain materials that don’t break down in the composting process:

• Plastic and glue: Some are sealed with polypropylene, a type of plastic that won’t compost.
• Synthetic fibres: The bag itself may be made from nylon or other synthetic fibres.
• Staples: These small items contaminate the finished compost.

Better Options

• Go loose leaf — use a reusable tea infuser or strainer and skip the packaging.

•  Look for tea bags labelled “plastic-free” or “certified compostable.”

🍃Consumer demand for safer, compost-friendly products is already driving innovation, every smart purchase helps shape a cleaner, greener Burnie.

If your tea bags may contain plastic:

• Open the tea bag and tip the leaves into your FOGO.
• Put the empty bag and staple in your red landfill bin.

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Some everyday items contain “forever chemicals” (PFAS) substances commonly used to make products water, grease, and stain resistant.  They’re called forever because they don’t break down, even during composting and can eventually enter and build up in our soil and waterways.

That’s why it’s so important to keep them out of your green FOGO bin.

Many “biodegradable” or “compostable” products can still contain PFAS or PFOC and are under federal review for possible bans.  Regardless of the outcome, Dulverton Waste Management does not accept any biodegradable or compostable packaging, to prevent spreading these materials into the environment.

💬 Ask before you buy: “Does it have a coating?  is it sealed with synthetic materials?”

• Use uncoated paper or cardboard for food.
• Check product labels – avoid terms like non-stick, greaseproof, repels water, or stain-resistant.
• Choose plastic-free and PFAS-free packaging – look for certified compostable logos (e.g. AS4736, AS5810).
• Place only food, garden waste, and certified compostable items in your FOGO bin.

🌱 Consumer demand for safer, compost-friendly products is already driving innovation and helping businesses shift to more sustainable packaging, every smart choice helps shape a cleaner, greener Burnie.

Common Items That May Contain PFAS

Please keep these out of your FOGO bin:

Food & Kitchen

• Takeaway boxes, burger wrappers, pizza boxes, microwave popcorn bags
• Baking paper and “non-stick” liners
• Paper plates, cups, or napkins labelled “waterproof” or “greaseproof”
• Flakes from non-stick cookware

Household & Cleaning

• Wipes (even “biodegradable” or “flushable”)
• Stain-resistant textiles or tablecloths
• Cleaning cloths with water-repellent coatings

Personal & Beauty

• Makeup wipes
• Dental floss (“glide” or waxed types)
• Long-wear or waterproof cosmetics (mascara, lipstick, etc.)

Why It Matters

⚠️ PFAS don’t compost: They survive the FOGO process and end up in the soil.

⚠️ They spread easily: Once in compost, they can move into plants, animals, and groundwater.

⚠️ They build up over time: Even small amounts can accumulate and harm people and ecosystems.

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

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

Complete Quarry and Landscaping
5 Massy-Greene Drive, SOUTH BURNIE
Ph: (03) 6464 0739

Dig This Landscape & Garden Supplies
201 Stony Rise Road, DEVONPORT
Ph: (03) 6424 2400

Edwards Landscaping & Supplies
6 Lewis Street, WYNYARD
Ph: (03) 6442 1747

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

Kelpomix
4a Formby Road, DEVONPORT
Ph: (03) 6424 8108

Walters Contracting 
6192 Frankford Road, EAST DEVONPORT
Ph: (03) 6427 9051

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

Dulverton Organic Compost can be purchased in bulk, direct from the Dawson Sidings Road facility. Minimum quantities apply with capacity to cater for orders over 1,000m3.