What goes in each bin?

Most garbage bins have a red lid. Some older bins have a lid the same colour as the body.

Always bag or wrap your rubbish before putting it in the garbage bin.

Yes please! Put these in your garbage bin

• Plastic bags, plastic wrappers, cling wrap
• Nappies, wet wipes, tissues, paper towel
• Pet waste (kitty litter, pet poo)
• Clothing, textiles, shoes
• Coat hangers, pillows
• Polystyrene, foam
• Drinking glasses, ceramics
• Broken glass, window glass, mirror glass
• Fruit stickers, rubber bands
• Stained pizza boxes
• Hairbrushes, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes
• Garden hose, plant pots, gloves

No thanks – never put these in your garbage bin

• Batteries, light globes
• Electronics (anything with a plug, battery or power cord)
• Paint, building materials
• Gas cannisters
• Hazardous chemicals

Find out how to dispose of these items.

Most recycling bins have a yellow lid. Some older bins have a lid the same colour as the body.

Scrape out any remaining food, rinse and dry food containers, tins, bottles and jars. Flatten cardboard boxes and leave lids on plastic and glass bottles and jars (even if they are metal).

Always put your recycling into the bin loose.

Yes please! These items can go in your recycling bin

• Paper and cardboard
• • Paper, newspaper (remove any plastic wrapping)
  • Magazines, junk mail, flyers
  • Greeting cards, postcards
  • Envelopes (with or without plastic windows)
  • Wrapping paper (excluding foil or plastic wrapping)
  • Paper bags
  • Cardboard boxes (unwaxed, flattened)
  • Pizza boxes (without food or oil stains)
  • Egg cartons
• Glass bottles and jars (empty, lids on)
• • Sauce bottles
  • Drink containers
  • Jars from jams, spreads
  • Coffee jars
  • Salsa, pasta sauce jars
• Plastic bottles and hard plastic containers (empty, lids on)
• • Milk bottles
  • Water, soft drink bottles
  • Yoghurt, ice cream containers
  • Cleaning, detergent, shampoo bottles
  • Margarine, butter tubs
  • Meat trays (excluding black trays)
  • Biscuit trays
  • Fruit punnets
  • Medicine bottles
• Steel cans
• • Fruit tins
  • Vegetable cans
  • Pet food cans
  • Aerosol cans (empty)
• Aluminium cans and foil
• • Drink cans
  • Aluminium foil (scrunch into a loose ball)
  • Aluminium trays

No thanks – never put these in your recycling bin

• Put these in your garbage bin
  • Plastic bags, plastic wrappers, cling wrap
  • General waste, garbage
  • Broken glass, window glass, mirror glass
  • Drinking glasses, ceramics
  • Medicine blister packs
  • Black plastics, such as meat trays or plant pots
  • Fresh milk, juice and Tetrapak cartons
  • Polystyrene, foam
  • Clothing, shoes and textiles
  • Waxed paper and cardboard
• Put these in your food and garden bin
  • Food waste
  • Garden clippings, tree branches
• Dispose of these separately
  • Batteries, light globes
  • Electronics (anything with a plug, battery or power cord)
  • Paint, building materials
  • Gas cannisters

Find out how to dispose of these items.

Other recycling options

Lots of things that can’t go in your recycling bin can still be recycled in other ways. Find out more here. 

You can also drop off household quantities of some recyclables at a Resource Recovery Centre at any time for free.

Most food and garden bins have a bright green lid. Some older bins have maroon/dark red lid, or a lid the same colour as the body.

Always put food scraps and garden clippings into the bin loose.

Keep your food and garden bin and kitchen caddy clean and fresh with these tips.

Yes please! Put these in your food and garden bin

• Food waste
  • Fruit, vegetables
  • Meat, seafood, bones (cooked, raw)
  • Cooked leftovers, pasta, noodles
  • Cheese, dairy, eggshells
  • Mouldy, spoiled, out-of-date food
  • Coffee grounds, tea leaves
  • Bread, cakes, pastries
  • Lollies, chocolate
• Garden clippings
  • Grass clippings, leaves, weeds
  • Garden clippings, plants
  • Flowers
  • Roses, yuccas, vines
  • Small branches, sticks (maximum 10cm thickness)

No thanks – never put these in your food and garden bin

• Put these in your garbage bin
  • Fruit stickers, rubber bands
  • Plastic, glass (garbage or recycling bin)
  • Compostable packaging
  • Plastic bags, compostable liners
  • Plant pots
  • Wire, string
  • Wooden items, timber
  • Tea bags, coffee filters
  • Pet waste
• Dispose of these separately
  • Soil, rocks, sand
  • Large branches, tree stumps

Some things can’t be put in any of your household bins because they can’t be processed or can cause health and safety or environmental hazards.

• Asbestos
  • Take to Wollert Landfill
• Batteries
  • Drop off for free at a battery recycling station
  • Drop off for free at a Resource Recovery Centre
• Electrical items and electronics (e-waste)
  • Drop off small e-waste for free at a recycling station
  • Drop off for free at a Resource Recovery Centre
  • Book a hard waste collection
• Furniture
  • Sell or donate if in good condition
  • Drop off at a Resource Recovery Centre
  • Book a hard waste collection
  • Drop off couches and mattresses for free at a Hume Clean Day
• Household chemicals
  • Drop off for free at a Detox Your Home event
• Paint
  • Drop off for free at a Resource Recovery Centre
  • Drop off at a Paintback location
• Large branches and tree stumps
  • Take to a free mulching day
  • Drop off at a Resource Recovery Centre
• Empty gas bottles
  • Drop off for free at a Resource Recovery Centre
• Motor oil
  • Drop off at a Resource Recovery Centre

All Hume residents have access to a number of free waste and recycling services to help you dispose of things that you can’t put in your household bins.

Both homeowners and renters can access these services:

• hard waste collections
• Resource Recovery Centre passes
• Hume Clean Days
• battery and e-waste recycling stations
• tree mulching days.

Council operates a bin inspection program to reduce incorrect items (contaminants) being placed in recycling bins.

Placing incorrect items in your recycling bin:

• causes health and safety issues at the sorting facility
• slows down the sorting process
• can cause entire truckloads of recyclables to be sent to landfill (the tip).

Contamination stickers

A sticker will be placed on your bin if it contains incorrect items.

If you get a contamination sticker:

1. Check to see what items should be removed
2. Remove these items
3. Call us on 9205 2200 to arrange for your recycling to be collected.

Residents who continue to place the wrong items in their recycling bins may have their recycling service cancelled and may receive a fine (infringement notice).

When you use the right bin, it means that:

• more materials can be recovered and recycled into new products
• less waste goes to landfill, reducing the impact on the environment
• workers at waste and recycling facilities can do their jobs safely.

What happens to my garbage?

The rubbish in your garbage bin is sent straight to landfill where it is buried. This is expensive and means that useful materials can’t be recycled or repurposed.

Landfills also create environmental problems. When waste breaks down in landfill it releases toxins that can leach into the ground and contaminate water sources. It also produces greenhouse gases such as methane.

That’s why it’s so important to avoid sending waste to landfill by using your recycling and food and garden bins properly, taking e-waste to appropriate recycling facilities, and giving reusable items a new life instead of throwing them away.

What happens to my recycling?

After the truck empties your recycling bin, your recycling is taken to a material recovery facility (MRF).

First, rubbish that doesn’t belong is manually removed by staff. Then, a series of machines sort everything into paper, plastic, glass, steel and aluminium streams. These materials are then cleaned and sent off to be processed into new products.

What happens to my food and garden waste?

The contents of your green bin are taken to a local composting facility.

Material that doesn’t belong is manually removed by staff. The food and garden material is then sealed in a large container where it is kept dark and warm so that it breaks down faster.

After a few weeks it is moved outside to allow it to break down further. It is then tested for safety and quality before it is finally used to enrich the soil in parks, gardens and on farms.