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What can go in your bins

Getting the right items in the right bin will ensure as much of our waste is recycled and composted as possible.

Which bin do you want to find out about?

Looking for a specific item?

Visit our A-Z guide

See also

Weekly food and green waste

Weekly food and green waste service

Not registered for food and green waste yet?

Register for food and green waste

What goes in your food and green waste bin

  • Bread, pasta, cereal and rice
  • Coffee grounds and loose leaf tea
  • Cooking oil
  • Dairy leftovers including cheese
  • Egg shells
  • Flowers
  • Fruit, citrus and vegetable scraps
  • Garden prunings
  • Grass clippings
  • Loose tea (not tea bags)
  • Meat and bones
  • Paper towels, newspaper and tissues
  • Seafood including shells
  • Small branches
  • Weeds
  • Compostable bags labelled AS4736 

If you are using bags to hold your food and green waste, please ensure they are compostable (AS4736) and not biodegradable or plastic bags. This will ensure your food and green waste is composted successfully and will not contaminate the bin.

You can purchase the compostable bags from Council's Corporate Centre at 76 Royal Avenue, Sandringham and at all Council libraries or alternatively, most major supermarkets and hardware stores now have them available. Look for the 7 litre capacity bags if you want them to fit inside your kitchen caddy. 

Red lidded garbage bin

Fortnightly garbage service

Remember, everything that you place in your garbage bin goes to landfill. Minimise your waste by using food and green waste and recycling bins correctly.

What goes in your garbage bin

  • Broken drinking or window glass
  • Broken pyrex and ceramics
  • Cigarette butts
  • Dog and cat droppings and kitty litter
  • Glossy, waxed or coated paper
  • Icy pole sticks
  • Nappies
  • Face masks
  • Plastic bags and other soft plastics 
  • Plastic, biodegradable or compostable cutlery and plates
  • Polystyrene
  • Sticky labels off fruit and vegetables
  • Tea bags
  • Takeaway coffee cups and lids (including biodegradable or compostable)
  • Tetra Pak cartons
  • Vacuum dust

Blue Fortnightly recycling bin

Fortnightly recycling service

What goes in your blue-lidded recycling bin

  • Aluminium foil and cans, steel cans and trays
  • Glass bottles and jars and lids
  • Paper and cardboard
  • Rigid household plastics and their lids e.g. milk bottles, soft drink bottles, washing liquid bottles, yoghurt tubs, etc.

Tips for getting your recycling right

  • Place items loosely in your recycling bin. Do not put items in plastic bags.
  • If you can scrunch plastic, it is considered a soft plastic and it can’t go in your recycling bin. 
  • Scrunch aluminium foil into a ball. 
  • Empty out any leftover food but do not worry about rinsing.
  • Re-attach lids to their original container or bottle.
  • It’s okay to leave labels on your recycling.

Other items

Couldn't find the item you were looking for?

Visit our A-Z guide

Blue Fortnightly recycling bin

Fortnightly recycling service

Your recycling blue recycling bin is for common household packaging items typically bought at a supermarket and found in your kitchen, bathroom or laundry.

Tips for getting your recycling right

  • Place items loosely in your recycling bin. Do not put items in plastic bags.
  • If you can scrunch plastic, it is considered a soft plastic and it can’t go in your recycling bin. 
  • Scrunch aluminium foil into a ball. 
  • Empty out any leftover food but do not worry about rinsing.
  • Re-attach lids to their original container or bottle.
  • It’s okay to leave labels on your recycling.

✔️ Yes - put these things in

❌ No - keep these things out 

  • Office paper and cardboard (not shredded paper and please flatten cardboard)
  • Plastic bags or soft plastics (anything that is plastic and can be scrunched into a ball eg. bread bags, cling film, pasta bags) 
  • Newspapers and magazines
  • Envelopes (plain and with window)
  • Electronics
  • Pizza boxes (with no food waste)
  • Polystyrene
  • Glass bottles and jars and lids
  • Ceramics 
  • Rigid household plastics and their lids e.g. milk bottles, soft drink bottles, washing liquid bottles, yoghurt tubs, etc.
  • Plastic cutlery
  • Plastic fruit punnets and biscuit
  • Clothing, shoes, or blankets
  • Empty plastic takeaway food containers
  • Nappies
  • Plastic plant pots (less than 10cm in diameter)
  • Chemicals Hazardous waste
  • Plastic meat trays
  • Food waste or garden waste
  • Aluminium trays and foil (clean and scrunched)
  • Tetra Pak (long life milk) cartons
  • Aerosol cans (empty)
  • Gas cylinders or canisters
  • Aluminium and steel cans 
  • Takeaway coffee cups including lids and straws 

Other items

Couldn't find the item you were looking for?

Visit our A-Z guide

Red lidded garbage bin

Fortnightly garbage service

Remember, everything that you place in your garbage bin goes to landfill. Minimise your waste by using food and green waste and recycling bins correctly.

What goes in your garbage bin

  • Broken drinking or window glass
  • Broken pyrex and ceramics
  • Cigarette butts
  • Dog and cat droppings and kitty litter
  • Glossy, waxed or coated paper
  • Icy pole sticks
  • Nappies
  • Face masks
  • Plastic bags and other soft plastics 
  • Plastic, biodegradable or compostable cutlery and plates
  • Polystyrene
  • Sticky labels off fruit and vegetables
  • Takeaway coffee cups and lids (including biodegradable or compostable)
  • Tetra Pak cartons
  • Vacuum dust
Guideline and explanationExample
  • Bread, pasta, cereal and rice           
  • Plastic bags (including biodegradable)
  • Coffee grounds and loose leaf tea                                                     
  • Packaging of any kind (including biodegradable or compostable) 
  • Cooking oil
  • Nappies and baby wipes
  • Dairy leftovers including cheese                                                                                       
  • Kitty litter (including biodegradable) 
  • Egg shells
  • Dog or cat droppings
  •  
  • Large tree stumps
  • Fruit, citrus and vegetable scraps
  • Soil and sand
  • Garden prunings
  • Vacuum dust
  • Grass clippings
  • Plastic cutlery and plates (including biodegradable or compostable)
  • Meat and bones
  • Napkins or serviettes that have been printed on or heavily dyed
  • Paper towels, newspaper and tissues                    
  • Wooden icy pole sticks
  • Seafood including shells
  • Large paper bags with handles such as supermarket shopping bags or food delivery service bags
  • Small branches
  • Cigarette butts
  • Weeds
 
  • Compostable bags labelled AS4736
 
Weekly food and green waste

Weekly food and green waste service

Not registered for food and green waste yet?

Register for food and green waste

If you are using bags to hold your food and green waste, please ensure they are compostable (AS4736) and not biodegradable or plastic bags. This will ensure your food and green waste is composted successfully and will not contaminate the bin.

You can purchase the compostable bags from Council's Corporate Centre at 76 Royal Avenue, Sandringham and at all Council libraries or alternatively, most major supermarkets and hardware stores now have them available. Look for the 7 litre capacity bags if you want them to fit inside your kitchen caddy. 

✔️ Yes - put these things in❌ No - keep these things out 
  • Bread, pasta, cereal and rice           
  • Plastic bags (including biodegradable)
  • Coffee grounds and loose leaf tea                                                     
  • Packaging of any kind (including biodegradable or compostable) 
  • Cooking oil
  • Nappies and baby wipes
  • Dairy leftovers including cheese                                                                                       
  • Kitty litter (including biodegradable) 
  • Egg shells
  • Dog or cat droppings
  • Compostable bags labelled AS4736
  • Large tree stumps
  • Fruit, citrus and vegetable scraps
  • Soil and sand
  • Garden prunings
  • Vacuum dust
  • Grass clippings
  • Plastic cutlery and plates (including biodegradable or compostable)
  • Meat and bones
  • Napkins or serviettes that have been printed on or heavily dyed
  • Paper towels, newspaper and tissues                    
  • Wooden icy pole sticks
  • Seafood including shells
  • Large paper bags with handles such as supermarket shopping bags or food delivery service bags
  • Small branches
  • Cigarette butts
  • Weeds