In just three months, households across the Ballarat municipality will begin transforming their food waste and garden clippings into nutrient-rich compost through the new FOGO (Food Organics and Garden Organics) kerbside collection service.
From Monday 3 November 2025, the content of residents' lime green lid bin (current green waste bin) will be collected fortnightly and sent to Green Care Mulching, where the food and garden waste is processed into high-quality compost.
Once collected, the food scraps and garden clippings are sorted, shredded and placed in large composting windrows.
These are carefully monitored and turned to encourage natural microbial activity. After curing and screening, the waste becomes a rich compost that can be used on gardens.
The processing gives the organic material a second life and returns valuable nutrients to the soil.
New bins with lime green lids will be delivered to all properties that do not currently receive a green waste service from mid-August. All residents with a current green waste bin service will use their existing bin with the lime green lid.
City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Tracey Hargreaves said the service represents a big step forward in sustainable waste management for the municipality.
"This new FOGO service will be a simple change with a powerful impact," she said.
"It is exciting to know that what we scrape off our plates or rake from our gardens can be transformed into something valuable that helps grow food."
Items that can go in your FOGO bin include fruit and vegetable scraps, raw and cooked meat and bones, citrus, leftovers, seafood, shellfish shells and eggshells as well as leaves, plants, twigs, grass and weeds.
Currently, food waste in Ballarat typically ends up in landfill - where it breaks down and produces methane, a powerful gas that can be environmentally damaging.
From the FOGO bin and through processing at Green Care Mulching, the food scraps and garden clippings will instead be transformed into quality compost.
Every year, Ballarat residents produce enough general waste to fill Mars Stadium.
The FOGO kerbside collection service is expected to divert thousands of tonnes of food organics from landfill each year.
Audit data, from the past five years, shows food waste makes up to 41 per cent of what goes in the average household waste bin - which adds up to an estimated 9,000 tonnes of food that is thrown out every year.
In the lead up to the rollout, residents will receive an information kit with a kitchen caddy, compostable liners and information on what can and cannot go into the FOGO bin.
The FOGO service will be rolled out alongside the municipality's first dedicated glass recycling kerbside collection in November.
Until the new service begins in November, residents are encouraged to put green waste only in their lime green lid bin and continue to drop off glass at one of the municipality's Pass on Glass sites.
The Ballarat Waste app puts local waste and recycling information right at your fingertips. Download the app via the App Store or on Google Play.
