The State Government is making these changes to make recycling easier for everyone. Right now, different councils in Victoria have different rules for kerbside bins. This can be confusing. The Government wants all councils to follow the same rules so people know what goes in each bin and so recycling can improve across the state.

These new rules will start on 1 July 2027. The State Government has not yet shared the final rules for each bin, but we are already working on the main changes. This includes giving everyone a FOGO (green) bin and making sure all bin lids are the same colours used by other councils in Victoria.

No, your bin collection schedule will remain the same. General rubbish (landfill) will continue to be collected weekly, while recycling and FOGO (food and green waste) bins will each be collected once a fortnight, on alternating weeks.

The FOGO bin is handy to have – you can dispose of garden waste, such as clippings and weeds as well as all types of food scraps! That includes leftovers, bread, meat, seafood, dairy, fruit – the list goes on! What goes into the FOGO bin becomes nutritious compost for Victorian farmers.

Free your landfill bin of food scraps and enjoy a bin with more space! When people use the FOGO service, we can reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill by up to 40%! This is good for the environment and makes sense financially because landfill fees are so high.

The State Government has introduced standard bin lid colours for all households in Victoria. This change will remove confusion and make it easier for everyone to use the right bin. On the Mornington Peninsula, this is especially helpful because we get nearly seven million visitors each year, and our recycling bins often have high contamination.

We have known about this change for a while. A few years ago, we started using the new lid colours on all new bins and on bins that needed replacement lids. You may have already seen some homes on your street using the new colours. If your household already has the new colour system, your bin lids will not be changed.

Our data tells us that even residents with a good compost system in place can put this bin to good use. Home composting and industrial composting is different. While your home compost system will not tolerate too much citrus, meat and dairy, the FOGO bin will happily take all food scraps and turn it into nutritious compost for farmers. This means you can free your landfill bin of all food scraps for good!

Just like in your garbage bin, food waste odours will naturally increase during the warmer months.However, there are ways to reduce the smell:

• You can pick up a free roll of compostable bin liners from our customer service centres to put your food scraps in.

• Try alternating layers of food waste and garden waste like lawn clippings or dry leaves.

• Store prawn shells, seafood and uncooked meat scraps in the freezer until closer to collection day.

• Store your bins in a shady, flat and well-ventilated area.

• Rinse your bins from time-to-time, and always keep the lid closed.

• Sprinkle some bicarb soda in the bin to neutralize odours.

From 1 July 2027, the food and green waste (FOGO) bin will be included in the total waste charge. We don’t have exact pricing at this stage, but we will share with our community once pricing has been confirmed. 

Since 2021 the State Government has increased the landfill levy by 126 per cent. 40% of contents in the general rubbish bin is currently food, so we have a good chance at keeping landfill costs manageable if we place food scraps in the food and green waste (FOGO) bin instead.

These changes are being driven by the State Government, but the reality for us locally is simple — waste is getting more expensive.

The best way to help keep costs down is to keep food waste out of landfill, use the FOGO bin properly, and keep recycling clean.