Kerbside Changes – New Four Bin System

The Victorian Government are standardising waste and recycling services across Victoria. All Victorian councils will be required to provide households with access to the following four bin services:

Food organics and garden organics recycling (FOGO - lime green lid)
Mixed recycling (yellow lid)
Glass recycling (purple lid)
General waste (red lid)

The introduction of the four-bin system will improve the quality of recyclables and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Frankston City Council and our community are on track to meet the implementation requirements of the four-bin system, and it is all because of you. Congratulations to everyone who’s already actively using the four-bin system – which is more than 80 per cent of our community!

Over the coming months we’ll be working to ensure everyone has access to all four bin services. We’ve already delivered separate glass recycling services and an optional user-pays FOGO service. Our next step is to make the FOGO service compulsory, which will assist with food diversion and help reduce the amount of food waste ending up in landfill. For those households who have a general waste service with Frankston City Council but have not yet opted-in to the FOGO service, we are required to ensure you and every household have received the FOGO service by 1 July 2026.

For further information on the Victorian Government's kerbside reform, please visit their website: Standardising household recycling across Victoria | vic.gov.au (www.vic.gov.au)

FAQs

What is the four-bin system?

The Victorian Government has created The Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 (section. 60), which sets out the requirement for all councils to provide residential households with access to the following four services.

Mixed recycling (yellow lid) – collected fortnightly.
Food organics and garden organics recycling (lime green lid) – collected fortnightly.
Glass recycling (purple lid) – collected every four weeks.
General waste (red lid) – collected weekly.

Why do we need to sort our waste into four separate bins?

When everyone sorts their household waste correctly, it has a positive impact on Council’s ability to ensure everything ends up in the right place.

Recycling right and reducing the amount of recyclables that end up in the general waste bin, helps keep valuable resources out of landfill. Meaning that they can be given a second life and made into new items, such as glass jars or compost.

By standardising household waste and recycling services we make it easier for residents to sort materials at home and achieve consistency across the state.

Why do we need the FOGO bin?

Landfill space is declining.

Putting your food scraps and garden organics into your food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bin means less waste ends up in landfill. This helps us recycle your food scraps into high-quality compost, which can be used for gardens and farms across Victoria.

I don’t have much food and garden waste. Do I need a FOGO bin?

In line with state government policy, the four-bin system is now the standard service for all residential households. The only way households can opt out of receiving this service is by demonstrating that they have a functioning home compost system, and that none of their food waste is going into the general waste bin.

Food and garden waste that can cause problems in a home compost system – such as meat, seafood, dairy, citrus, onions, processed carbohydrates and garden weeds – can be placed in the FOGO bin. The FOGO bins can also be used for food and garden waste when your compost bin or worm farm is resting or at capacity.

Meaning that even if you have your own at-home composting or worm farm system, adding a FOGO bin can be a useful addition.

I live in a multi-unit development – Do I need a FOGO bin ?

In line with state government policy, the four – bin system is now the standard service for all residential households. The only way households can opt out of receiving this service is by demonstrating that they have a functioning home compost system and that none of their food waste is going into the general waste bin.

Council recognises that implementing the four-bin system can be challenging for all households. Particularly, for multi-unit developments (MUDs) where storage space and collection points are limited. To address these challenges, Council has implemented a new 120L size FOGO bin specifically for multi-unit developments by application only.

Will the frequency of bin collections change with the four-bin system?

There’s no current plan to change the collection frequency of any of the four bins.

However, now that the four-bin system is set to become compulsory, we do hope to consult with our community in the near future to better understand their collection needs and expectations.