Waste guide

Your guide to recycling and waste. Download a copy or request a physical copy to be mailed to you.

Find where to get rid of your waste item

Recycling bin

large recycle

Please empty food and drinks from containers before recycling. From September 2022 new or replacement general waste bins will have red lids, in line with the new Victorian standards. All items must be loose, not bagged.

Remember, if in doubt, leave it out!

Put these in your recycling bin

Recyclable items should fit in the following four categories:

Clean paper and cardboard
Glass bottles and jars
Aluminium packaging 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:

recycling plastic codes 1 recycling plastic codes 2 recycling plastic codes 3 recycling plastic codes 4 recycling plastic codes 5

Don't put these 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:

recycling plastic codes 6 recycling plastic codes 7

Translated recycling posters

Our waste guide campaign poster (English) has been translated into the following languages:

Rubbish bin

rubbish bin images

All items must be bagged when put in your rubbish bin.

These can go in your general waste 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:

recycling plastic codes 6 recycling plastic codes 7

Don't put these in your general waste 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 (FOGO)

food and garden waste bin

Put these in your food and garden waste bin

food scraps and waste
grass clippings
weeds
garden prunings
flowers
small branches (up to 75cm in length and 7.5cm in diameter)

Don't put these in your food and garden waste bin

general household waste
plastic bags or liners (including compostable or degradable items)
soil or stones
timber
building or renovation materials

How to use Casey's food waste recycling service

To use the service, you must have a dark red food and garden waste bin. If you do not have one, you can order these bins online from Council.
Choose a container or kitchen caddy to collect your household food scraps. Keep this container on the kitchen bench so it is easy to remember to use it.
Put in food scraps and waste. Acceptable items include all fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, bones and seafood, dairy, bread and noodles, leftovers and spoiled food.
Remember, food must be nude! Do not include any packaging with your food waste, including biodegradable bags, as they cannot be processed. Paper towel and newspaper are an exception. These may be used to line your food scraps containers or wrap food to lessen smells. View how to get rid of your waste.
Take your food scraps container outside and empty it into the dark red food and garden waste bin.
The food and garden waste bin is collected as usual every fortnight.

Benefits of recycling food waste

Reducing food waste saves money. The average family in Victoria loses about $2200 a year from wasting food, and almost 250,000 tonnes of food waste is sent to landfill each year. That’s nearly one in five shopping bags per week!

Recycling food waste is good for the environment, returning valuable nutrients to the earth. It also reduces the production of methane and the volume of waste sent to landfill.

All Casey residents can now put household food scraps straight into their dark red garden waste bin. Council will collect your garden and food waste to create compost.

Acceptable and unacceptable food items

Contaminated food and garden waste ends up being sent to landfill. To put the right items in the food waste bin, use the below list as a guide:

Acceptable food waste	Unacceptable food waste
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, paper towel, 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	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 litter) 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

What goes in your 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, paper towel, 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 does not go in your bin

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 litter)
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

Plastic bags and bin liners cannot be recycled, including compostable or biodegradable ones. They do not break down in the composting process. To avoid bin smells, line your food waste container with used paper towel or newspaper as these are accepted in your food and garden waste bin.

Pet poo also cannot go into food and garden waste. Australia has strict standards on animal products used for composting. Please dispose of pet poo in your normal rubbish bin.

Avoiding bin smells and pests

Suggestions for preventing odours and pests in your food and garden waste bin include:

Keep your food and garden waste bin in the shade.
Line your bin with garden prunings to stop food scraps sticking to the bottom of the bin.
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 with detergent or eucalyptus oil or place it in the dishwasher.

Printable posters (for home, school and community)

Display these posters for a quick reminder on how to handle rubbish, recycling, and food and garden waste.

How to get rid of waste and unwanted items
Find your bin collection day

Rubbish, recycling and food waste

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