Recycling

Kerbside recycling bins are collected on a fortnightly basis on the same day as your normal rubbish service. Bins must be out by 6am and placed half a metre back from the kerb and one metre apart from each other.

Recycling Calendar - 2011/2012 (1.3MB)

Interesting Facts

There are many interesting facts and important reasons why we should recycle to reduce our waste and keep it out of landfill.

  • According to Cleanup Australia, the amount of waste places in landfill each year is enough to cover the state of Victoria.
  • The Department of Environment and Climate Change in NSW revealed that every 10 tonnes of recyclable materials recovered is equivalent to taking four cars off the road permanently.
  • Cleanaway says that recycling one tonne of paper and cardboard saves 13 trees and 2.5 barrels of oil.
  • Landfills produce a toxic liquid called leachate. Leachate is a mixture of organic acids, dissolved chemicals and rainwater which can contaminate surrounding land and waterways, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

What Happens to My Recycling? (6.5MB)

What can I put in my recycle bin?

In your yellow recycling bin, please place the following items:

  • Glass bottles and jars (no lids, china pottery, porcelain or other types of glass).
  • Steel and aluminium cans including aerosols and clean alfoil trays (no other metal items of any kind).
  • Newspapers, office paper, magazines and phone books (no plastic wrapping and do not bundle or tie together).
  • All other cardboard (remove contents and liners and please flatten).
  • Plastic bottles and containers (soft drink, milk and detergent bottles with lids removes and all other plastic containers with the recycling symbol).
  • Drink cartons (no silver lined UHT cartons).

Please rinse containers, plastic bottles and drink cartons and remove the lids.

What can't I put in my recycling bin?

Please help us reduce our contamination rate by not putting the following items in your yellow top recycling bin:

  • No plastic bags, plastic film or shrink wrap
  • No polystyrene goods (eg. meat trays and packaging)
  • No ceramics, window glass, light globes, mirrors or broken glass
  • No garden waste of any sort
  • No household garbage, food scraps or food wrappings
  • No batteries
  • No scrap metal
  • No unwanted paint or paint tins
  • No nappies
  • No syringes/needles or medical waste
  • No clothing or leather
  • No oil, acid or chemicals
  • No liquid of any kind
  • No building rubble
  • No animal waste or kitty litter

FAQs

  • How clean does the material that goes in my recycling bin need to be?

The material doesn't need to be spotless but should be clean of food scraps and be dry when placed into the bin.

  • What happens with plastic lids?

All lids have to be removed from bottles and jars and thrown in the garbage as they cause problems in the recycling process.

  • Does one plastic bag in the recycling bin matter?

Recycling rubbish placed in plastic bags cannot be sorted. Even worse, plastic bags can get stuck in the sorting machinery.

  • What is waste contamination?

Contamination occurs when a non-recyclable item is placed in the bin and makes other material useless for recycling.

(This information is sourced from Cleanup Australia.)