A-Z Bin Guide

We get it, waste sorting can feel tricky. But every little effort counts, and by being a good sort with your bins, you’re helping our whole community!

Loose is Lovely! Layer up!

Tip food scraps from your reusable kitchen container, or paper shopping bag, straight into the FOGO bin.

Food Waste:

✅ All vegetable, fruit and food scraps, including citrus and onions
✅ Cooked, spoiled or raw food
✅ Meat, bones, seafood, eggs, eggshells,
✅ Dairy, milk, cheese, yoghurt 
✅ Bread, rice, cakes, pasta
✅ Coffee grounds, loose tea
✅ Soiled paper towels, tissues, shredded paper
✅ Food-soiled cardboard pizza, takeaway boxes and paper packaging

Garden waste: 

✅ Lawn clippings, leaves, flowers, weeds (including noxious) 
✅ Veggie patch scraps, small branches 
✅ Prunings, small branches (under 30cm long & 10cm thick)
✅ Untreated wood chips, sawdust

If in doubt, leave it out!

💡 Pro Tip: Line the bottom of your bin with newspaper, a paper bag, or cardboard to soak up any leaks and prevent waste from sticking to the bottom.

🔗nwrrr.com.au/guide

“We know it’s not always easy to know what goes where, but we’re all responsible for the waste we create. Be a good sort and give it your best shot.”

Use this bin for remaining waste that cannot be avoided, reused, recycled, or diverted.

Sorting waste can be confusing sometimes, and that’s okay. What matters is taking responsibility for what we create and doing our best to put it in the right bin

Use this bin for recyclable common household items and ensure they are left loose (no bags).

Extra gold star if you remove food waste, rinse out plastic containers and bottles (they don’t have to be sparkling clean), and flatten out your boxes.

• Hard plastics that have the identification code (the number in the triangle) of 1, 2 or 5. These include: 

  • #1 (PET Plastics): like single use water/soft drink bottles

  • #2 (HDPE Plastics): including cloudy milk bottles, washing detergent and spray bottles 

  • #5 (PP Plastics): such as yoghurt, butter or ice cream containers 

• Aluminium cans, including beverage cans 

• Steel cans - like tinned vegetable cans and pet food cans 

• Loose cardboard, newspapers, magazines, junk mail and office paper 

• Glass bottles and jars

Contamination in FOGO can harm the people who sort it by hand. Sharp objects, plastics, or hazardous items put workers at risk of injury, illness, and stress.

NO GO FOGO - Please do not put these in your FOGO Bin:

❌ No Bags – not even compostable bags.
All bags are rejected because we can’t be sure what they are made from, or what’s inside. Bags or their contents may introduce chemicals or contamination, affecting soil quality.

Materials for the Waste Centre
🚫 Soil, large branches, heavy logs
🚫 Concrete, rocks, gravel, ceramics
🚫 Metals
🚫 Treated timber, building materials 

Materials for your Recycle Bin
🚫 Recyclables, glass, tins, cans, foil

Materials for your Landfill Bin

🚫 Tetrapaks (e.g. milk, juice cartons)
🚫 Bags, plastic wrappers, cling wrap
🚫 Coffee cups 
🚫 Textiles

Products containing traces of plastics or chemicals 
🚫 Biodegradable liners or containers
🚫 PLA #7 takeaway containers 
🚫 materials that are non-stick, grease proof, repels water, or stain-resistant.
🚫 Tea bags or coffee bags/filters (with chemical sealants)

Biosecurity pathogens or health risk Items
🚫 Pet waste or kitty litter
🚫 Dead animals or roadkill
🚫 Nappies and Sanitary products
🚫 Fireplace Ash (may contain toxic chemicals if you burn treated timber, coal, plastic or any other non-wood products)

ℹ️ If in doubt, keep it out and pop it in your landfill bin.

🔗nwrrr.com.au/guide

🌱Let’s keep chemicals and plastics out of our fogo to ensure high-quality compost for our farms, nurseries, schools and gardens.

• Recyclable items
• Food scraps
• Garden organics and soil

Some items can’t go in any of your kerbside bins - recycle these for free at your local waste transfer station.

These include: 

• Paints

• Chemicals

For any large, bulky items take these to the Waste Management Centre.

Keep a look out for regional initiatives, such as free annual household hazardous waste collection days, to dispose of things like chemicals safely.

• Paper towels, tissues, or dishcloths
• Pizza boxes with oil or food residue
• Compostable or fast-food packaging

👉 Put these in your FOGO bin

Soft and small plastics
• Scrunchable plastics like shopping bags, food packaging, bin liners, or bagged recyclables
• Small plastic bits like bread tags, straws, or cutlery
• Coffee cups, takeaway cups, or lids

Composite Packaging (Mixed Materials)
• Foil-lined cartons (juice, long-life milk, soup)
• Foil-lined bags (chips, coffee, pet food)
• Blister packs (medications, batteries, small electronics)
• Toothpaste tubes

👉 Put these in your landfill bin, or look them up on Recycle Mate to find if there is a disposal option near you.

Other non-recyclables

• Landfill waste (nappies, hygiene products, general rubbish)
• Building materials or rubble
• Polystyrene foam
• Ceramics, porcelain, or non-container glass
  
• Metal coat hangers

• Gas bottles (LPG or butane)
• Medical sharps or containers
• Batteries or flares
• E-waste (TVs, toasters, computers, etc.)
• Large steel or metal items

👉 Take these items to the Waste Management Centre