Bin items
Different waste items should be put in your general rubbish bin, green waste bin and recycle bin.
General rubbish bin (grey/green/red lid)
Do not put these items in your grey, green or red lid general rubbish bin:
- bricks, rocks, soil or concrete
- large metal objects
- building materials
- liquids – paints, motor oil or solvents
- toxic or corrosive substances
- mercury lamps
- loose needles and syringes - these can go in the bin if placed in a rigid walled puncture resistant container and sealed
One fluorescent tube may be disposed of in the general rubbish bin. The tube is to be wrapped tightly in newspaper or in the original box and placed in the refuse bin ensuring the lid is closed. Do not place these tubes in your recycling bin.
Small quantities of household batteries can be placed in the wheelie bin. Car batteries can be taken to the recycling area of transfer stations.
For large items or extra waste, you can use one of Brisbane City Council's four transfer stations (rubbish tips).
Green waste recycling bin (lime green lid)
Acceptable items are:
- prunings and grass clippings
- shrubs
- weeds
- leaves and loose bark
Unacceptable items are:
- kitchen waste, including fruit and vegetable scraps
- animal droppings
- general recycling and rubbish
- large logs, branches and stumps
Recycling bin (yellow lid)
Acceptable items:
Paper
- newspaper, office paper, envelopes and magazines
- phone books
- brochures and junk mail
- wrapping and packaging paper
- greeting cards
- glossy paper
- coloured paper
- paper bags
Cardboard
- cardboard boxes
- cereal and washing powder boxes
- milk, juice cartons and tetra packs
- pizza boxes
- tissue boxes
Glass
- glass bottles and jars
Metal
- steel cans, empty aerosols, aluminium cans and trays
- clean kitchen alfoil
- empty paint tins
Plastic
- plastic bottles and containers (including milk, juice, soft drink, yoghurt, margarine, shampoo and detergent containers) - remove lids and recycle them separately
- plastic numbers 1,2,3,4,5,6
Unacceptable recycling bin items:
- waxed paper or waxed cardboard
- padded envelopes
- tissue paper, thermal fax paper
- china, crockery, ceramics
- drinking glasses, light bulbs
- mirror glass, window glass
- heat proof cookware, pyrex
- wire, cutlery
- gas bottles, white goods
- plastic bags or wraps, plastic film
- bubble wrap
- polystyrene cups and trays
- elastic bands, straws
- dirty nappies
- bricks, wood soil and garden or hazardous waste
- food scraps, including oils
- needles and syringes - these can go in the general rubbish bin if placed in a rigid walled puncture resistant container and sealed
When it comes to recycling, if you're in doubt, then leave it out.
Please don't place recyclables in a plastic bag or bin liner - it prevents them being sorted and they go to landfill.
Recycling booklet
If you want to learn more about how easy it is to recycle in Brisbane download:
Some documents on this page need Adobe Reader, Microsoft Word or Microsoft Word Viewer installed on your computer to view or print them. Some documents may also have a large file size and could take some time to download.
