FOGO in Strata Buildings: Contamination, Bin Rooms and Cleaning

In short: NSW law requires every council to offer households a food or food-and-garden (FOGO) bin by 1 July 2030, and many Sydney councils have already started with apartment buildings. In a strata building, FOGO usually means a handful of shared green bins in the bin room, sometimes as few as one bin for every five to ten units. The biggest risk is contamination: FOGO is turned into compost for farms and gardens, so it has to be clean. A few plastic bags in a shared bin can get it tagged and left unemptied, and contaminated loads cost councils money, so councils work directly with strata buildings that keep getting it wrong. On top of that, food waste smells, leaks and attracts pests far faster than general rubbish, so bin rooms need closer monitoring and more frequent cleaning.

What is the NSW FOGO mandate?

The Protection of the Environment Legislation Amendment (FOGO Recycling) Act 2025 sets two groups of obligations:

• Councils must provide a food organics (FO) or food and garden organics (FOGO) collection to all households by 1 July 2030.
• Businesses and institutions with large general waste volumes have had to separate food waste since 1 July 2026, with the threshold dropping in 2028 and 2030. Apartment buildings serviced by a private waste contractor can fall under these business rules. Our guide to the NSW FOGO rules for businesses and strata explains the thresholds.

For most council-serviced strata buildings, the practical question isn't whether FOGO is coming, but when your council rolls it out, and whether your bin room is ready.

How many FOGO bins will your building get?

Councils allocate shared FOGO bins to apartment buildings, and the ratio is much lower than for general waste or recycling. Examples:

Council	Shared FOGO bin allocation
Inner West	1 × 240 L FOGO bin per 10 units (design guideline for new developments)
City of Parramatta	1 × 240 L FOGO bin per 5 units
North Sydney (2022 apartment trial)	1 × 120 L food bin per 20 units
City of Sydney	120 L food scraps bins, collected twice a week in many buildings

By comparison, Parramatta allows 1 × 240 L red bin per 3 units and 1 × 240 L recycling bin per 2 units. Waste planners have suggested that around 1 × 240 L FOGO bin per 3–4 units collected weekly is what it takes to replace the food going into the red bin. So if residents actually use FOGO, a 1-in-10 allocation will fill up fast. In practice, buildings see one of two problems: bins that overflow, or residents who give up and keep putting food in the red bin.

Some councils are also cutting red bin capacity or collection frequency once FOGO starts, to encourage food recycling. That puts even more pressure on the bin room.

Contamination: the biggest FOGO risk for strata buildings

FOGO isn't rubbish that goes to landfill. It's made into compost that goes onto farms, parks and gardens, and NSW sets strict limits on contaminants such as plastic and glass in that compost. So the material in the green bin has to be clean.

What counts as contamination: plastic bags (including "biodegradable" ones), food still in its packaging, coffee cups, nappies, glass, foil, takeaway containers, pet waste and general rubbish. Only food, garden waste and approved compostable liners belong in FOGO.

Liners: compostable, not "biodegradable". This is the mistake residents make most. "Biodegradable" bags are usually ordinary plastic that breaks into tiny pieces, and they count as contamination. Only certified compostable liners are accepted: look for the seedling logo and AS 4736 printed on the bag or box. They're made from plant starch (corn or potato) or PLA, blended with a compostable polymer, and break down fully at the composting facility. Many councils supply them free, and a few prefer no liner at all or newspaper, so check your council's list.

What happens when a bin is contaminated:

• The bin is tagged and may not be emptied. Inner West Council, for example, puts a sticker on bins containing wrong items, and after repeated warnings the bin may be rejected and not emptied.
• Whole truckloads can be rejected. One contaminated bin can spoil a whole truckload. Processing facilities screen loads, and rejected material goes to landfill.
• It costs the council. Contaminated FOGO needs extra sorting or goes to landfill, both at a much higher cost, which ends up in everyone's rates. That's why councils follow up with buildings that keep contaminating: letters, education visits, meetings with the strata manager or building manager, and in persistent cases removing the FOGO service from the building.

Why apartments find it harder: in a house, one household owns its bin. In a strata building, dozens of residents share a few bins, so one person's plastic bag contaminates the whole bin, and nobody can tell who did it. Tenants change often, many residents speak languages other than English, and people new to FOGO make honest mistakes.

It can be fixed. Across NSW council audits, FOGO contamination averages around 2% by weight, but individual results range up to almost 18%. Penrith, one of the first Sydney councils with FOGO, reported starting at around 35% contamination and getting below 4% through education. The difference comes down to education, clear signage and someone keeping an eye on the bins.

In a strata building, the bin room is where contamination is controlled. The most effective step is a quick check of the FOGO bins before every collection, by your cleaner or building manager, so obvious contamination is removed before the truck arrives and repeat problems are reported early.

Why FOGO means more cleaning

Food waste behaves very differently from dry rubbish:

• Odour. Food starts to smell within a day or two, especially in summer and in enclosed basement bin rooms.
• Leaks and liquid. Food scraps release liquid that pools in the bottom of bins, drips onto floors and stains concrete.
• Pests. Fruit flies, cockroaches, rats and, in hot weather, maggots are attracted to food bins and spread to the rest of the bin room.
• Contaminated bins left behind. If a FOGO bin is tagged and not emptied, a full bin of rotting food sits in the bin room for another week.
• More bins, less space. Most older buildings were designed for two bin types, not three, so bin rooms get crowded and harder to clean around.

A bin room that was fine with a monthly clean under the old two-bin system will usually need weekly attention once food waste is in the building.

What needs to change in your building

Before FOGO starts

1. Find out your council's date and bin allocation for apartment buildings. Ask how many FOGO bins you'll get, what size, how often they're collected, and whether red bin capacity is changing.
2. Check the bin room layout. Work out where the FOGO bins will go, whether there's room to wash them, and whether the room has drainage, ventilation and a tap.
3. Plan for chutes. Food waste shouldn't go down the garbage chute. Residents need to carry it to the FOGO bins, so the route matters.
4. Arrange kitchen caddies and liners. Many councils supply each apartment with a caddy and compostable liners. Find out who distributes them in your building.
5. Update the cleaning scope with your cleaner (see the checklist below) and your by-laws or building rules if needed.

When it starts

6. Agree who checks the FOGO bins for contamination before each collection: your cleaner or building manager.
7. Put up clear signage above every FOGO bin, with pictures and in the main languages spoken in your building.
8. Tell residents what goes in. All food scraps, including meat, bones and dairy, plus approved compostable liners. No plastic bags, packaging or "biodegradable" plastics.
9. Watch the first month closely. Track how full the FOGO bins are on collection day and how much contamination you're finding. Send a reminder to residents with photos of common mistakes.

Ongoing

10. Respond quickly to council tags or letters. Work with the council's education team; many offer free resident sessions and signage.
11. Ask for more bins or collections if the allocation isn't enough. Councils can often supply extra bins, sometimes for a fee.
12. Review every season. Summer is when odour and pest problems show up.

A cleaning checklist for FOGO bin rooms

Each visit (at least weekly)

• Check FOGO bins aren't overfilled and lids close
• Wipe bin lids and handles
• Sweep and mop the bin room floor, paying attention to drips around FOGO bins
• Check FOGO bins for contamination before collection day. Remove obvious items (plastic bags, packaging) where it's safe to do so, and photograph and report repeat problems to the building manager
• Make sure bins are in the right place for collection day

After each FOGO collection

• Rinse or wash empty FOGO bins, and wipe out any residue
• Wash down the floor where the bins stand

Monthly

• Deep-clean the bin room: walls, floor and drains
• Check for pests and arrange pest control if needed
• Check signage is still clean and readable

How M&I can help

M&I is a cleaning and waste business, so we look at bin rooms from both sides. We clean strata common areas and bin rooms across Sydney, check bins for contamination as part of our bin room work, help buildings fix overflow and contamination problems, and run waste audits that show what your building actually throws away and how many bins it really needs, before FOGO starts or when it isn't working.

We contact every enquiry within 48 hours. Proposal after site inspection.

See our strata cleaning and waste management services.

Which Sydney councils have FOGO, and when are the others starting?

Timelines change, so always check your council's website. As at November 2026:

Already running FOGO or food recycling

• Penrith: FOGO for urban households since 2010, one of the first in NSW.
• Woollahra: weekly FOGO for houses and apartments.
• Randwick: FOGO for houses and apartments since February 2021. Buildings with 20+ units received bins and caddies through the building manager.
• Inner West: weekly FOGO for houses and apartment buildings. Over 1,100 apartment buildings were using food recycling by 2022.
• Fairfield: fortnightly FOGO green bin service.
• City of Parramatta: FOGO from November 2024 for houses and buildings of up to 30 units. Larger buildings are being added in 2025–26.
• City of Sydney: food scraps service in more than 300 apartment buildings. The rollout to all households is planned for 2027–2030.
• Blacktown: three-bin FOGO service introduced in 2025–26.
• Sutherland Shire: FOGO for houses from 2 November 2026. Multi-unit complexes and apartment buildings will follow in later stages, from late 2027.

Starting soon

• Blue Mountains: moving to FOGO from July 2026.
• Hawkesbury: FOGO from 1 July 2027.
• Waverley: council-wide FOGO by 2027, following a 2024–25 trial.
• City of Canada Bay: FOGO from July 2027 for houses and low-rise buildings, with remaining apartment buildings in 2029.
• North Sydney: service expected around 2029, when current waste contracts end.

Trials or planning under way

• Cumberland, Campbelltown and Liverpool have started trials or are planning their rollout.
• Ryde, Willoughby and Lane Cove ran a food recycling trial in 2022 for houses and medium- and high-density units.
• Bayside, and every other council not listed, must have a household service in place by 1 July 2030.

Frequently asked questions

Is FOGO compulsory for apartment buildings?

Councils must offer a food or FOGO service to all households by 1 July 2030, and many are including apartment buildings. Residents are expected to use it, and contamination can lead to bins not being collected. Buildings serviced by private contractors may also be covered by the NSW business food waste rules.

What happens if our building's FOGO bin is contaminated?

Usually the council tags the bin and may leave it unemptied. Repeated contamination leads to letters or visits, and the council working with your strata or building manager. In persistent cases, councils can remove the FOGO service from the building. A contamination check before each collection is the simplest way to avoid this.

What if one FOGO bin per 10 units isn't enough?

Ask your council for extra FOGO bins or more frequent collection. Keep a simple record of how full the bins are on collection day; it makes the case much easier. A waste audit can also show how much food your building really produces.

Can residents use biodegradable bags in the FOGO bin?

No. Only liners certified compostable to AS 4736 (look for the seedling logo) are accepted. "Biodegradable" or "eco" plastic bags are treated as contamination.

Can food scraps go down the garbage chute?

No. Food waste should be carried to the FOGO bins in the bin room. Putting it down the chute contaminates the general waste and creates odour in the chute.

How often should FOGO bins be washed?

There's no legal rule, but food bins should be rinsed or washed after collection, and bin rooms cleaned at least weekly, more often in summer.

This guide is general information for Sydney strata buildings as at November 2026. Council rollouts and bin allocations change, so check your council's website for current details.

Sources: Inner West: residential shared bins · City of Parramatta: FOGO · North Sydney: food waste trial report · City of Sydney: waste guidelines for new developments · City of Sydney: planning food organics for all households · MRA Consulting: FOGO in MUDs · NSW EPA: guide to best practice FOGO · Sutherland Shire: FOGO FAQs · Hawkesbury: FOGO from 1 July 2027 · Blue Mountains: multi-dwelling waste guideline · Inner West: FOGO · Inner West: FOGO FAQs · NSW EPA: What's the GO with FOGO? · The Fifth Estate: FOGO contamination · ABC News: Sydney councils and FOGO · Small Business NSW: FOGO rules from 1 July 2026