What goes in your kerbside bins

Overfull bin

Sorting your waste correctly means we can recover more resources.

See below for tips on what can go in your red, yellow or green bin. 

Check out our waste and recycling A to Z for a full list of what waste goes where.

Waste and recycling AtoZ list

Red landfill bin

Your red landfill bin is collected fortnightly and is for waste that is not reusable or recyclable and ends up buried in landfill.

What can you put in your red landfill bin?

  • Aerosol cans 
  • Baby food pouches
  • Bottle lids (smaller than a credit card)
  • Broken crockery
  • Cable, cords and rope
  • Chip packets 
  • Cigarette butts
  • All disposable nappies including compostable options
  • All wipes (keep wipes out of our pipes!)
  • Fabric
  • Loose soft plastics (cling wrap and plastic bags)
  • Meat and biscuit trays
  • String/twine
  • Takeaway coffee cups and lids
  • Laminated paper and stickers
  • Plastic straws, plates & cutlery
  • Waxed paper and cardboard

Yellow recycling bin

Your yellow recycling bin is picked up fortnightly. 

What can go into your yellow recycling bin? 

  • Aluminium cans (empty & clean)
  • Aluminium foil (clean)
  • Books
  • Clean paper and cardboard
  • Cardboard egg cartons
  • Cartons milk and juice (lids off)
  • CD covers
  • Envelopes 
  • Glass jars and bottles (clean & lids off)
  • Magazines
  • Newspapers
  • Plastic containers and bottles (clean & lids off)
  • Steel tins and cans (clean)
  • Strawberry and other fruit punnets
  • Tetra paks (lids off)

What can't go in your yellow recycling bin?

Putting the wrong item in your bin can cause contamination. This may result in your recycling being sent to landfill. Small items can get stuck in recycling machinery and create hazards. 

  • Aerosol cans
  • Bottle lids (smaller than a credit card)
  • Cables, cords and rope
  • Chip packets
  • Takeaway coffee cups and lids
  • Fabric
  • Food
  • Meat and Biscuit trays
  • Plastic bags and other soft plastics
  • Plastic straws, plates & cutlery
  • Polystyrene
  • String and twine
  • Soiled paper and cardboard
  • Waxed paper and cardboard

More tips to help you #RecycleRight

Green organics bin

Your green organics bin is collected weekly.

By using you green organics bin, you are helping to keep over 4,500 tonnes of organic waste out of landfill each year.  

Your green organics are processed into compost and used by local farmers and gardeners to improve soils and produce our food.

What can you put in your green bin?

  • All food scraps – including leftovers, meat bones, seafood and citrus.
  • Soiled paper and cardboard including pizza boxes, paper towel and tissues.
  • Teabags and coffee grounds.
  • Garden waste – pruning’s, palm fronds, grass clippings, leaves, flowers and weeds.
  • Council approved compostable liners

Use a kitchen caddy 

The best way to collect your food scraps at home is by using a kitchen caddy. You can get a caddy:

  • when you book a new collection service from Council.
  • from the front counter at Council’s Mullumbimby head office for $10
  • from any hardware store. 

Lining your kitchen caddy

You can either:

  • empty your food scraps directly into the caddy
  • line your caddy with a Council approved compostable liner
  • line your caddy with newspaper. 

Compostable bags

Compostable bags must be certified to Australian Standard AS-4736 so that they break down in the commercial composting process. You will know if they are compostable because there will be an image of the seedling logo.

No plastic, degradable or biodegradable bags should be put in your green organics bin.