Your new bins

The way we use our bins has changed

You now need to sort your waste into 4 bins:

  • food and garden organics (light green lid) is collected weekly
  • general rubbish (red or dark green lid) is collected weekly
  • mixed recycling (yellow lid) is collected fortnightly/every 2 weeks
  • and glass recycling (purple lid) is collected monthly/every 4 weeks.

Why have our bins changed?

The Victorian Government is standardising household waste and recycling services across the state. All Victorian council kerbside services will move to a 4-bin system. The new system will improve recycling and reduce waste going to landfill.

Your 4-bin waste calendar

An online collection calendar is available to download now. Visit our Bin collection calendar page to get your calendar.

How have our bins changed?

Food and garden organics
  • Use this bin for food scraps, leftovers and garden clippings
  • Plastic bags and compostable bags are not accepted in this bin
  • Bags cause contamination which reduces the quality of compost created from your food and garden waste
  • If you don’t have a kitchen caddy to collect your food scraps in, you can pick one up from one of our Customer Service Centres. Stocks are limited.
  • This bin gets picked up weekly.
  • Your food and garden waste is turned into compost and mulch products used by Victorian farmers to help grow the crops that feed us all
  • We also donate compost made from your food and garden waste to community gardens to help nourish the soil that helps grow food locally in Merri-bek

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our Food and garden organics bin page.

General rubbish
  • There has been no change to the size of your general rubbish bin or how often it is picked up
  • General rubbish bins can have a red or dark green lid
  • From July 2023 food scraps no longer go in your general rubbish bin
  • Anything placed in your general rubbish bin is sent to landfill. To reduce waste sent to landfill, make sure to put the right things in each of your bins and only buy what you need.

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our General rubbish bins page.

Mixed recycling
  • Glass bottles and jars no longer go in this bin
  • Use this bin for paper, cardboard, plastic bottles and containers, steel tins, aluminium cans, and foil
  • Mixed recycling is now collected fortnightly instead of weekly
  • Your mixed recycling is turned into new plastic, metal and paper products like drink cans, milk bottles and cardboard boxes.

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our Mixed reycling bins page.

Glass recycling
  • Use this bin to recycle your glass bottles and jars only
  • Some residents will need to take their glass bottles and jars to a glass recycling drop-off point. This will mostly affect residents in units and apartment blocks. We have been in touch by mail if this affects you
  • Lids should be firmly attached. Loose lids go in your general rubbish bin
  • From July 2023, your glass recycling bin gets picked up monthly (every 4 weeks)
  • Your glass recycling is turned into new glass bottles and jars right here in Victoria
  • By separating your glass bottles and jars from your mixed recycling, you are helping to improve the quality of recyclables in Victoria.

  • Your glass recycling is turned into new glass bottles and jars right here in Victoria.

  • No. Different types of glass have different melting points, so we can’t recycle all types of glass together.

    Only put glass bottles and jars in your glass recycling bin. All other types of glass go in your general rubbish bin. This includes broken drinking glasses, windows, mirrors, cases, glass cooking dishes, and perfume bottles.

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our Glass recycling bins page.

Watch our video below to see the types of items you can put in each bin.

Standard service bin sizes

The available bin sizes for each waste stream in the 4-bin service are:

  • Food and garden organics: 120 litres (standard) or 240 litres
  • General rubbish: 80 litres (standard), 120 litres or 240 litres
  • Mixed recycling: 120 litres, 240 litres (standard) or 360 litres
  • Glass recycling: 120 litres (standard) or 240 litres (2 x 120 litre bins)

Can I change the size of my bins?

You can now change the size of your bin if the standard bin size is not suitable for your household. There will be no changeover fee, but your waste charge will change. Smaller bins cost less and larger bins cost more. Upsize or downsize your FOGO, mixed recycling or glass recycling bin capacity here.

Braille labels for bins

Braille labels for all 4 bins are available at no cost. Residents can collect them from our Customer Service Centre at 90 Bell Street, Coburg or call customer service on 9240 111 and we will mail them to you.

Waste charge

Will these changes make my waste charge go up?

The waste charge will be affected by the service changes being rolled out.

There will be an increase in the waste charge paid by ratepayers to cover the costs of the new glass recycling service, expanded food and garden organics service, and the increased State Government waste levy.

We know that keeping costs low is important to the community, so we have worked hard to manage the impact of the increase on ratepayers, keeping costs as low as possible.

We have secured State Government funding to put towards the cost of rolling out the 4-bin service.

Waste charge calculation

The waste charge will look different on the 2023/2024 Rates Notice.

The current waste charge is calculated based on the size of the garbage bin being used. From 1 July 2023, we are no longer charging based on the size of your general rubbish bin. 

On your rates notice, each bin will be listed with a separate charge depending on the size of the bin. The charge for each bin will make up your overall waste charge. Larger bins will cost more, smaller bins will cost less.

The waste charge also covers 2 hard waste collections per household or business each year.

Waste charges for 2023 / 2024

The 2023-24 annual waste charge has increased on average by 7.5% for households using a standard service.

If you have a standard sized bin for each type of waste, this increase adds up to 41 cents per week, or $21.19 for the year. This covers the increased waste processing fees and State Government waste levy.

The waste levy increases every year and is charged per tonne of waste sent to landfill. Since all of our general rubbish is sent to landfill, the general rubbish service is the most expensive to deliver.

4-bin waste service user guide

Download a copy of our handy user guide for information on how to use your bins, how to reduce household waste, and more.

More information on our new 4-bin service

We understand that not all households have space to store 4 bins. That's why we are providing a slightly different service to people living in units, townhouses and apartments.

Update your knowledge today and learn how you can reduce your waste.

For more information on how the new 4-bin service affects your household, please visit our new 4-bin service page on Conversations Merri-bek.