Recycling bin

yellow circle with recycling symbol

To be a GOOD SORT, make sure you put exactly the right things into your recycling bin. Contamination is the biggest problem – putting the wrong things in can mean the entire contents gets sent to landfill. Our recycling is collected and processed by Cleanaway.

Tips:

  • All items must go in loose; plastic bags must never go in your recycling bin.
  • Small plastic lids need to be removed and put in the general waste bin.
  • Metal beer bottle lids can go into the recycle bin, but aluminium wine caps can't.
  • Lightly rinse soiled items before putting in the bin.
  • Flatten boxes and cans so they take up less space.
  • Larger items of cardboard, rigid plastic and metals including whitegoods (up to 0.5m3) are accepted at no cost at our transfer stations.

What's accepted in my recycling bin?

Clean, rigid plastics numbered 1, 2 or 5*, which typically includes:

Milk and other plastic drink bottles
Yoghurt, ice cream and margarine tubs
Detergent and shampoo bottles
Berry punnets
Biscuit trays
Takeaway containers
Plastic plates
Clear plastic meat trays

*Check the bottom of the item for a triangle containing a number
* Items should be about the size of a credit card or larger. Otherwise put them in the landfill bin.

Paper and Cardboard
Boxes - uncoated
Newspapers
Magazines
Junk mail
Envelopes (you can leave the clear windows in)
Egg cartons
Clean, empty pizza boxes (if the base is greasy or has food attached, rip the box apart and put the clean cardboard in the recycle bin, and the greasy part in your FOGO bin.)

Metals

Drink cans
Tins and cans (including Milo tins, etc)
Ferrous metal (magnetic) lids
Empty aerosol cans (lid off)
Aluminium foil – scrunched into the size of a golf ball
Aluminium foil trays (rinsed clean)

What's NOT accepted in my recycling bin?

X Glass (bottles and jars go in the glass-only bin)
X Rigid plastic not numbered 1, 2 or 5
X
Plastic bags or soft packaging of any sort 
X
Cardboard milk or juice cartons (includes long life cartons) - coated cardboard packaging made for holding liquids goes in the general waste bin.
X Takeaway coffee cups and lids (place in general waste bin)
X Any plastics not numbered 1, 2 or 5
X Small plastic lids (plastic lids larger than credit card size can go in your recycling bin)
X Clingwrap (put it in the general waste bin)
X Polystyrene foam (take it to a transfer station)
X Foam meat trays or black plastic meat trays (regardless of the number)
X Light globes and tubes (take e-waste to a transfer station )
X Electrical items or appliances (take e-waste to a transfer station)
X Batteries (take e-waste to a transfer station or battery collection tube)
X Window glass
X Mirrors
X Broken drinking glasses
X Pyrex, crockery or ceramics
X Coffee pods (check to see if you can recycle yours somewhere)
X Video tapes
X Gas bottles
X Fabric or clothing
X Food scraps or garden organics (these go in the FOGO bin)
X Nappies
X Wire and rope
X Timber
X Hazardous or medical waste such as sharps or sharps containers

Can I get a different size or extra recycling bin?

You sure can.

  • There is no cost to downsize bins.
  • If you would like an extra recycling bin there is a yearly fee.
  • If you would like a larger recycling bin, there is a once-off fee.

View the form and costs

 

FAQs about the recycling bin

Where does my recycling go?

 Watch this video to see what happens to your recycling after it's collected.