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Get the guide and bin it right
Everything you need to know is now in a single handy guide.
Download the waste guide
Or request a physical copy to be mailed to you.
Recycling bin
Please empty food and drinks from containers before recycling. All items must be loose, not bagged. Soft plastic carry and shopping bags are not recyclable. Remember, if in doubt, leave it out!
What to put in your recycling bin
- Recyclable items should fit into the following four categories:
- Clean paper and cardboard
- Glass bottles and jars
- Aluminium packagings like food tins, drink cans, scrunched foil, empty deodorant cans and loose metal lids from jars or bottles
- Plastics with recycling symbols 1 to 5:
What not to put in your recycling bin
- Medical waste, including insulin needles, masks and gloves
- Car parts of any kind
- Highly flammable materials: chemicals, paint tins or gas bottles
- Bagged domestic waste or recycling in a plastic bag
- Clothing, shoes and fabric
- Soft plastics — items that can be scrunched into a ball:
- Food packaging, e.g. chip or lolly wrappers, zip lock bags
- Cling wrap
- Plastic bags
- Milk/juice cartons liquid paperboard or Tetra Pak
- Takeaway coffee cups, straws and cutlery (including biodegradable or compostable)
- Any black plastic, e.g. plastic meat trays or plant pots
- Electrical waste, including mobile phones and anything with a power cord or battery
- Rubber and latex
- Timber
- Foam or polystyrene
- Ceramics
- Shredded paper
- Plastics with recycling symbols 6 and 7:
Rubbish bin (general waste)
Use the rubbish bin if you are not sure what container to use. From September 2022, new or replacement rubbish bins will have red lids, in line with the new Victorian standards. All items must be bagged when put in your rubbish bin.
What to put in your rubbish bin
- Nappies
- General household waste
- Takeaway coffee cups, straws, and cutlery (including biodegradable or compostable)
- Clothing that cannot be donated to charity
- Broken glass and ceramics
- Black plastics
- Milk/juice cartons or Tetra Pak
- Plastic bags and soft plastics
- Shredded paper
- Polystyrene
- Plastics with recycling symbols 6 and 7:
What not to put in your rubbish bin
- Anything that you can put in your recycling bin
- Anything that you can put in your food and garden waste bin
- Paint
- Hazardous materials
- Electrical waste, including mobile phones and anything with a power cord or battery
- Batteries.
Food and garden waste bin
Recycling food waste into compost is good for the environment, and residents now have the option to put food scraps into their food and garden waste bin, or their rubbish bin. New or replacement food and garden waste bins will have green lid.
What to put in your food and garden waste bin
- All food leftovers (including meat, bones, coffee grounds, paper towels etc.)
- Garden organics (including grass and small prunings)
- Fruits and vegetables (including citrus and hard-to-compost items)
- Meat and bones (both cooked and raw)
- Fish and seafood (excluding hard shells such as oyster shells)
- Eggs and eggshells
- All bakery items, including bread and cakes
- Rice, pasta, cereal and noodles
- Loose tea leaves and coffee grounds (excluding tea bags and coffee pods)
- Soups, sauces, curries and dips
- Cooking oil (small amounts only. Pour it in, no containers)
- Fast food leftovers
- Plate scrapings
- Spoiled food
- Used paper towels, napkins, paper bags, newspaper and tissues
- Weeds and flowers
- Grass and leaves
- Garden prunings (including weeds and rose trimmings)
- Small sticks, toothpicks, skewers and uncoated chopsticks
- Food-spoiled papers
What not to put in your food and garden waste bin
- general household waste
- plastic bags or liners (including compostable or degradable items). They do not break down in the composting process. To avoid bin smells, line your food waste container with a used paper towel or newspaper, as these are accepted in your food and garden waste bin.
- soil or stones
- timber
- building or renovation materials
- Plastic or biodegradable bags (these do not break down in the composting process)
- Food packaging, including aluminium foil, cling wrap, fruit stickers and containers.
- Nappies and wipes (including compostable and biodegradable)
- Medical waste
- Coffee pods and tea bags
- Coffee cups (including compostable)
- Pet poo and kitty litter (including biodegradable waste). Australia has strict standards on animal products used for composting. Please dispose of pet poo in your regular rubbish bin.
- Ash and tree stumps
- Treated and painted timber
- Concrete, bricks and rocks
- Glass
- Metal
- Dishcloths or textiles
- Cigarette butts
- Drier lint and vacuum cleaner dust
- Biodegradable and compostable bags, cutlery and paper plates
Tips for Using a Kitchen Caddy
- Watch this video for tips on using a kitchen caddy
- Interested in getting a kitchen caddy? Book to pick up your free kitchen caddy at Bunjil Place customer service here. One kitchen caddy per City of Casey household.
Preventing smells and pests
- Watch this video for tips on preventing smells and pests in your food and garden waste bin.
- More suggestions for preventing smells and pests in your food and garden waste bin include:
- Keep your food and garden waste bin in the shade.
- Line your container with garden prunings to stop food scraps from sticking to the bottom of the container.
- Layer food waste in between lawn clippings or garden prunings.
- Wash your bin out from time to time.
- Store food scraps in a sealed bucket or container until the night before your bin day. Empty scraps into your food and garden waste bin before it is collected.
- Keep seafood, bones, and meat scraps in the freezer until the night before your collection day.
- Do not overfill your bin or caddy. Keep the lid securely closed.
- Sprinkle some bicarbonate of soda (baking soda) in your caddy and food and garden waste bin to absorb smells.
- Clean up any spills or mess around your caddy or bin.
- Let hot food cool down before placing it in your caddy or bin.
- Line your caddy with a piece of newspaper or wrap food waste in a small amount of used paper towel or newspaper.
- Store your caddy in the fridge.
- Rinse your caddy regularly. For a thorough clean, wash it with detergent or eucalyptus oil or place it in the dishwasher.
Printable resources
Printable posters (for home, school and community)
Display these posters for a quick reminder on handling rubbish, recycling, and food and garden waste.
Translated recycling posters
Our waste guide campaign poster (English) has been translated into the following languages:
- Arabic - قم بتنزيل أو حفظ أو طباعة ملصق إعادة التدوير باللغة العربية
- Dari - پوستر بازیافت (recycling) را به زبان دری دانلود، ذخیره یا چاپ کنید.
- Hazaragi - صحیح بازیافت کید
- Hindi - रिसाइक्लिंग (पुनर्चक्रण) पोस्टर को हिंदी में डाउनलोड, सेव या प्रिंट करें।
- Pashto - د ریسایکل کولو پوسټر ډاونلوډ کړئ، خوندي کړئ یا چاپ کړئ.
- Punjabi - ਰੀਸਾਈਕਲਿੰਗ ਪੋਸਟਰ ਨੂੰ ਡਾਊਨਲੋਡ ਕਰੋ, ਸੇਵ ਕਰੋ ਜਾਂ ਪ੍ਰਿੰਟ ਕਰੋ।
- Simplified Chinese - 下载、保存或打印中文的回收垃圾标贴。
- Sinhalese - ප්රතිචක්රීකරණ පෝස්ටරය සිංහලෙන් බාගන්නමට, සුරකින්න හෝ මුද්රණ කරන්න.
- Turkish - Geri dönüşüm posterini indirin, kaydedin veya yazdırın
- Ukrainian - Завантажте, збережіть або роздрукуйте українські наклейки на переробку.