Busting the myths about recycling in Brisbane
Discover the truth behind common recycling myths in Brisbane. Discover what you can recycle and how it helps create a cleaner, more sustainable community.
We all want to support a cleaner, and sustainable Brisbane by taking small actions at home, like recycling. Many people wonder what belongs in the yellow bin, where recycling goes, and why it matters. Let's bust some of the most common misconceptions about recycling in Brisbane!
Myth 1: If I put one wrong thing in my yellow bin, I’ve ruined a whole truck of recycling
Myth busted!
Visy’s Material Recovery Facility (MRF) takes your recyclables and sorts them into paper, cardboard, rigid plastics, glass, and metal. The sophisticated mechanical sorters detect and remove any non-recyclable items or contaminants.
It’s important to know what belongs in your yellow bin. If a non-recyclable slips in, our systems remove it.
Learn about the items you can recycle using our convenient (and free) Brisbane Bin and Recycling app.
Did you know?
Keep these out! Here are the top 5 items you should not throw into your yellow bin:
- Soft plastics
- Food waste
- Batteries
- Disposable nappies
- Textiles.
Myth 2: Recycling doesn’t matter because it all ends up in land fill
Myth busted!
Council collects household recycling using a dedicated fleet of recycling trucks. In 2024-25, we collected around 61,000 tonnes of material from Brisbane kerbsides, including paper, cardboard, glass, plastics and metals. After collection, facilities sort and process recyclables to transform them into new products and packaging.
Brisbane residents are already doing a great with recycling but there's still room to improve. In 2024–25, paper made up nearly 10% of waste in the average Brisbane red bin, but it was recyclable. Put paper in your yellow bin to reduce landfill waste and recover a valuable resource.
Myth 3: I don’t need to recycle because Brisbane has heaps of space to bury our waste
Myth busted!
Our current landfill is filling up, and future sites or waste technologies may require land farther from the city.
Reduce the waste and recyclables sent to landfill to use resources better and save materials for the future. Recycling helps tackle important environmental issues by conserving water, reducing energy use, lowering greenhouse emissions, decreasing landfill reliance, and protecting natural habitats.
Myth 4: If there is no recycling symbol on the packaging it can’t be recycled
Myth busted!
The triangular recycling symbol shows a product is recyclable, but not all recyclable packaging has this symbol. To determine whether an item is recyclable, ask yourself what materials it contains. You can recycle paper, cardboard, rigid plastic, aluminium, steel, and glass in your yellow bin.
Did you know?
You can't put electronic waste, blister packs, mobile phones, and empty cosmetic containers in your yellow bin at home. Instead, take these items to a community recycling hub for proper recycling. Each hub accepts different items. Check our hub locations and learn what is acceptable for drop off at each hub.
Myth 5: Items need to be washed and packed into a plastic bag before being placed in my yellow bin
Myth busted!
Keep recyclable items loose and never put plastic bags in your yellow bin. The recycling facility can't open plastic bags, so any bagged recycling goes to landfill. You do not need to rinse containers before you place them in your yellow bin, although doing so may reduce odours.
Myth 6: You can dispose of all household glass in the yellow bin
Myth busted!
Different forms of glass have different melt temperatures. Only put glass containers with a recycling symbol in the yellow bin. Place other thermal glassware, like Pyrex or broken drinking glasses, in the red waste.
Use Council's search tool to learn what bin to place your glass in.
Myth 7: If a container has been used to store chemicals, it can't be recycled
Myth busted!
You can recycle empty bleach containers and aerosol cans (including deodorant sprays) in your yellow bin. Take all other containers to a free household hazardous waste drop-off day. Council holds these days 4 times a year at its resource recovery centres.
Ready to improve your recycling efforts?
Increase your recycling capacity by ordering a larger yellow recycling bin from Council for free.