FOGO A-Z
Below is a comprehensive list of what can and cannot go into the FOGO bin.
If unsure, contact us on 1300 722 542 or council@randwick.nsw.gov.au or place the item in the red bin.
Important update – FOGO changes
In July 2022 the NSW Environment Protection Authority (EPA) released an updated set of rules on what can and can’t go into your green lid FOGO bin.
This advice from the NSW EPA means that your FOGO bin can only be used for food scraps and garden organics only. Other organics such as compostable packaging, soiled paper and pet waste must be placed in the red bin.
Certified 100% Compostable Liners with the AS4736 seedling Logo can still be used to line your kitchen caddy.
| Item | Accepted? |
|---|---|
| Adhesive labels and tape | NO |
| Animal droppings | NO |
| Baking Paper | NO |
| Barbecue Skewers (bamboo) | NO |
| Biodegradable plastic bags | NO |
| Bones – meat and seafood | YES |
| Branches <10 cm diameter | YES |
| Bread – crusts, stale or mouldy | YES |
| Building materials | NO |
| Car parts | NO |
| Cardboard | NO |
| Cartons, such as milk or juice cartons (including lids and caps) | NO |
| Cat Litter | NO |
| Ceramics | NO |
| Cereal | YES |
| Certified compostable packaging, cutlery, containers, cups, straws, stirrers | NO |
| Charcoal | NO |
| Cheese | YES |
| Chewing Gum/ Bubble Gum | NO |
| Chicken bones/ skins/ scraps | YES |
| Chopsticks (Wooden or Bamboo) | NO |
| Clothes | NO |
| Coffee grinds (without pods or other packaging) | YES |
| Compostable liners that don’t have the Australian standard AS4736 | NO |
| Compostable liners with Australian Standard AS4736 (for lining your caddy only) | YES |
| Cooking oils/ fats | YES |
| Corks (any type) | NO |
| Curries (best if frozen) | YES |
| Dairy products | YES |
| Dental floss pick (any type) | NO |
| Dog or cat faeces | NO |
| Dust | NO |
| Egg cartons | NO |
| Egg shells | YES |
| Expired food (without packaging) | YES |
| Feathers (only fresh plucked chicken feathers) | YES |
| Fish - bones, skin and scraps | YES |
| Fish & Chips paper | NO |
| Flowers | YES |
| Food in containers (only food can go in FOGO but not the container) | NO |
| Food scraps | YES |
| Fruit – peels, cores, seeds and scraps | YES |
| Garden Cuttings | YES |
| Glass bottles and jars (including lids and seals) | NO |
| Grains | YES |
| Grass Clippings | YES |
| Green/ Eco/ Calico/ Hessian/ Reusable Bags | NO |
| Hair – human or pet | NO |
| Hay or straw | YES |
| Household waste | NO |
| Junk mail | NO |
| Kitty litter – clay, paper based or plastic | NO |
| Leather products – bags, shoes, other | NO |
| Leaves | YES |
| Leftover cooked food | YES |
| Logs – larger than 10cm in diameter | NO |
| Magazines and glossy paper | NO |
| Meat bones & skins | YES |
| Meat scraps (raw or cooked) | YES |
| Medical waste | NO |
| Metal Tins & Cans | NO |
| Milk (including non-dairy milks) | YES |
| Mouldy food | YES |
| Nails – human and pet | NO |
| Napkins/serviettes | NO |
| Nappies (including compostable ones) | NO |
| Needles and syringes | NO |
| Newspaper | NO |
| Nuts (including shells and husks) | YES |
| Oyster shells | YES |
| Paints and poisons | NO |
| Palm fronds & palm tree nuts | NO |
| Paper – shredded or dirty/oily | NO |
| Paper bags | NO |
| Paper napkins | NO |
| Paper or plastic condiment sachets (e.g., sugar, salt, pepper sachets) | NO |
| Paper plates | NO |
| Paper towels | NO |
| Pasta (cooked or uncooked) | YES |
| Pet food | YES |
| Pet poo and kitty litter | NO |
| Pet hay or straw | YES |
| Pizza boxes | NO |
| Plant cuttings | YES |
| Plant pots | NO |
| Plastic bags | NO |
| Plastic bags that are 50% or 60% plant based | NO |
| Plastic bags that are 50% Ocean Plastic Recycled Bags | NO |
| Plastic bags that are 95% Recycled | NO |
| Pruning (<10cm in diameter) | YES |
| Recyclable items | NO |
| Recyclable plastic containers | NO |
| Rice (cooked or uncooked) | YES |
| Rocks | NO |
| Sand | NO |
| Sauces such as tomato sauce or relishes (without packaging) | YES |
| Seafood and shells | YES |
| Seeds | YES |
| Shellfish waste | YES |
| Shredded paper | NO |
| Skin – fish, chicken | YES |
| Soil | NO |
| Straw or Hay | YES |
| Tea bags | NO |
| Tea Leaves | YES |
| Textiles – bedding, cleaning cloths, carpets | NO |
| Timber (untreated, unpainted, uncoated, <10cm in diameter) | YES |
| Tissues | NO |
| Toilet roll / paper towel cardboard inners | NO |
| Toothpick | NO |
| Twigs & sticks (<10cm in diameter) | YES |
| Vacuum waste | NO |
| Vegetables – peels, cores, seeds and scraps | YES |
| Weeds | YES |
| Wipes (including compostable ones) | NO |
| Yogurt | YES |
Last Updated: 25 June 2025