Which bin does THAT go in?
Download the 'Which Bin Do I Use?' poster for a one page visual guide to what goes in to each of Bass Coast's three bins - or for more detailed information, check out our A-Z guide below.
Why not download the Recycle Mate app? It helps you recycle anywhere in Australia – whether at home, at a friend's house or when on holiday. Just take a photo or type the name of an item you would like to know more about and Recycle Mate will give you disposal advice specific to your location. It can help you understand what can go in each of your Bass Coast kerbside bins - or give you directions to the waste facility closest to you.
Recycle Mate is an initiative of the Australian Council of Recycling with funding support from the Australian Government's Environment Restoration Fund program. Adaptation Environmental Support is the program delivery partner.
- Sadly, the REDcycle program has been suspended – visit REDcycle website for more information.
- Please dispose of soft plastics in your red-lidded landfill bin until the program is reinstated.
- Shop sustainably – buy less and avoid single use soft plastic packaging and products wherever possible.
- Check out recyclemate.com.au or download the RecycleMate app to find out what and where to recycle based on your location.
| Item Description | Bin | Additional Information |
| Acids | X | Never in your bins - dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
| Aluminium foil | Recycling | Scrunch it into a loose ball please. |
| Aluminium foil trays | Recycling | Scrape off any leftover food - but it's OK if there's still a little bit attached. |
| Appliances | X | If your used white goods are in good enough condition to reuse, please donate to a worthy cause. Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019 |
| Asbestos | X | Asbestos is only accepted at Grantville Transfer Station |
| Ash | Organics | Add wood or charcoal ash to compost or gardens to improve and condition the soil (this is the safest method of disposal). Cooled ashes can be placed in the organics bin - but make make sure ashes are completely cold and avoid a fire risk. |
| Baking paper | Landfill | Baking paper cannot be recycled and is not accepted in our organics bins. |
| Band aids | Landfill | |
| Balloons | Landfill | Never use balloons outdoors; they can hurt our wildlife - bubbles are a much better way to celebrate! |
| Balls | Landfill | Tennis balls, basketballs, volleyablls, soccer balls and even snowsports equipment can be recycled through Game on Recycling. Check the website for your nearest collection point - and if your sporting club is not registered as a collection site yet, encourage them to get involved! |
| Basketballs | Landfill | Tennis balls, basketballs, volleyablls, soccer balls and even snowsports equipment can be recycled through Game on Recycling. Check the website for your nearest collection point - and if your sporting club is not registered as a collection site yet, encourage them to get involved! |
| Batteries - car | X | Never in your bins - recycle for free at your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Batteries - household | X | Never in your bins - recycle for free at your nearest Waste Facility or Customer Service centre. |
| Beauty products | Landfill | Leftover product goes into landfill - check the packaging to see whether the packaging can be recycled. You can also recycle empty beauty products at David Jones stores. |
| Biros / highlighters / markers / felt tips | Landfill | Look out for TerraCycle's recycling program - Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch is a Community Collection Hub for biros / highlighters / markers / felt tips - please let Council's Waste Services team know if your business or community group also provides this service |
| Biscuit packets (outer wrapper) | Landfill | Soft plastics can be recycled at some supermarkets through Redcycle |
| Biscuit trays | Recycling | |
| Blankets / bedding | Landfill | Get in touch with your local animal shelter or wildlife carer - many accept bedding donations to help keep animals warm and comfy. |
| Blister packs | Landfill | For blister packs to be recycled, they first need to be collected in sufficient volumes to warrant the use of specialised recyclin technology. Pharmacycle provides the mechanism to achieve this, and local processing capabilities ensure that all recovered materials from blister packs stay right here in Australia! Ask your local pharmacy if they can accept your used and empty blister packs for recycling - and if not, why not? |
| Bones and meat scraps | Organics | |
| Books | Recycling | If your books are in good enough condition to be reused, please donate them to a worthy cause. |
| Bottles - glass | Recycling | |
| Bottles - plastic | Recycling | |
| Bottle tops / bottle caps | Landfill | Loose bottle tops/caps are too small to be recycled through your kerbside bin. If you can re-attach it to the bottle, it will be recycled - but loose bottle tops/caps are sent to landfill. |
| Bread bags | Landfill | Soft plastics can be recycled at some supermarkets through Redcycle |
| Bread clips / bread tags | Landfill | Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch collects bread clips for recycling. Visit Aussie Bread Tags for Wheelchairs – Recycling bread tags, providing wheelchairs …. (ozbreadtagsforwheelchairs.org.au) to find your nearest collectin point - and please let Council's Waste Services team know if your business or community group also provides this service |
| Bricks | X | Bricks can be disposed of at Council's Transfer Stations in Grantville, Wonthaggi and Inverloch - the cost varies depending on the type/quantity of bricks, so check with the waste facility for further details |
| Bubble wrap | Landfill | Soft plastics can be recycled at some supermarkets through Redcycle |
| Building / construction waste | X | Building / construction waste can be disposed of at Council's Transfer Stations in Grantville, Wonthaggi and Inverloch - check with the waste facility for further details. Trucks and skip bins can only be accepted at Grantville and are charged by weight. |
| Butter wrappers | Landfill | |
| Cans - aluminium | Recycling | By 2023, Victoria will have a Container Deposit Scheme - so you'll be able to get cash for your cans! |
| Cans - steel | Recycling | |
| Cardboard | Recycling | Plain cardboard (not printed or shiny cardboard) can also go in your Organics bin, if you're running out of room in your Recycling bin. Waxed cardboard (eg some fruit boxes) must go in your landfill bin. |
| Cardboard - waxed | Landfill | |
| CD's | Landfill | Check with your nearest opp shop - some charities still accept donations of CD's. |
| CD cases | Landfill | CD cases cannot be recycled through your kerbside recycling bin. |
| Cellophane | Landfill | Soft plastics can be recycled at some supermarkets through Redcycle |
| Ceramics | Landfill | |
| Chemicals | X | Never in your bins - dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
| Chip and cracker packets (silver lined) | Landfill | Soft plastics can be recycled at some supermarkets through Redcycle |
| Cigarette butts | Landfill | |
| Cleaning product bottles | Recycling | Empty containers only please - if the container still has product in it, please dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
Cleaning wipes | Landfill | |
| Cling wrap / cling film | Landfill | Some brands of cling wrap/film can be recycled at some supermarkets through Redcycle |
| Clothes | Landfill | If your clothes are in good enough condition to reuse, please donate them to a worthy cause. |
| Coffee cups | Landfill | Always landfill - even if they have a recycling logo or are marked as compostable. |
| Coffee cup lids | Landfill | Always landfill - even if they have a recycling logo or are marked as compostable. Best option? Remember your 'keep cup' and avoid waste altogether! Simply Cups offer a recycling program for coffee cups and lids; check if your favourite cafe offers this service - and if not, ask them why not?! |
| Coffee grounds and tea | Organics | |
| Coffee pods / capsules | Landfill | Check with the manufacturer - some brands offer recycling services |
| Compostable packaging | Landfill | Compostable packaging is not accepted in your kerbside organics or recycling bins. Compostable packaging must be disposed of in your landfill bin - or you can give it a try in your own garden's composting bin. |
| Cooking oil | X | Small household quantities (up to 200mL) can go into your organics bin. Commercial quantities must be disposed of through private waste contractors. |
| Cork | Organics | |
| Cosmetics | Landfill | Leftover product goes into landfill - check the packaging to see whether the packaging can be recycled. You can also recycle empty beauty products at David Jones stores. |
| Cutlery | Landfill | Stainless steel cutlery can be accepted for recycling as scrap metal at Council's waste facilities - but is not recyclable through your kerbside Recycling bin. |
| Dairy products | Organics | Please remove any waxy rinds from cheese - these need to go into your landfill bin. |
| Dead animals | Organics | |
| Doonas | Landfill | Get in touch with your local animal shelter or wildlife carer - many accept bedding donations to help keep animals warm and comfy. |
| DVD's | Landfill | Check with your nearest opp shop - some charities still accept donations of DVD's. |
| DVD cases | Landfill | DVD cases can't be recycled through your kerbside recycling bin. |
| Doors | X | Check with your nearest Waste Facility. |
| E-waste | X | Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019 |
| Eggshells | Organics | |
| Electronics | X | Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019 |
| Fabric | Landfill | |
| Fire extinguishers | X | Fire extinguishers must never be placed into kerbside bins - they can be recycled for a small fee at Council's transfer stations in Wonthaggi, Grantville and Inverloch. Please note that fire extinguishers, gas bottles and cylinders can not be accepted as scrap metal for safety reasons. |
| Fish and seafood | Organics | |
| Fluorescent lights / tubes | X | Never in your bins - recycle for free at your nearest Waste Facility. **Service not available at Inverloch Transfer Station. |
| Flushable wipes | Landfill | Please don't flush them either! |
| Foam / polystyrene | Landfill | Foam and polystyrene cannot be recycled through your Recycling bin - even though it may have a 'recycling symbol' printed on it. |
| Food pouches - yoghurt etc. | Landfill | Food pouches cannot be recycled through your kerbside recycling bin - no, not even the hard caps. |
| Food scraps | Organics | Every kind of food scrap! Bones, citrus, seafood shells, everything! |
| Fruit scraps | Organics | Even citrus. Avocado stones. Pineapple heads. Mouldy bananas. All fruit! |
| Furniture | X | If it's in good condition, take it to your preferred opp shop. If it's not reusable, take it to your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Gas bottles / gas cylinders | X | Gas bottles and cylinders must never be placed into kerbside bins - they can be recycled for a small fee at Council's transfer stations in Wonthaggi, Grantville and Inverloch. Please note that gas bottles and cylinders can not be accepted as scrap metal for safety reasons. |
| Glass - beverage bottles, food jars etc. | Recycling | By 2023, Victoria will have a Container Deposit Scheme - so you'll be able to get cash for (some of) your glass beverage bottles! |
| Glass - broken windows, pyrex, mirrors, oven glass, drinking glasses, vases | Landfill | Please wrap before placing in your landfill bin. Never place these kinds of glass in your recycling bin. |
| Glues | X | Never in your bins - dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
| Grass clippings | Organics | |
| Hair (human and pet) | Organics | |
| Hand tools - hammers, screwdrivers | X | If it's in good condition, take it to your preferred opp shop. If it's not reusable, take it to your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Household chemicals | X | Never in your bins - dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
| Ink cartridges | Landfill | Ink cartridges can be recycled! Harvey Norman stores in Wonthaggi and Cowes as well as Australia Post stores are drop off locations for recycling ink cartridges. |
| Insect spray | X | Never in your bins - dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
| Jar lids / tops | Landfill | Loose jar lids/tops are too small to be recycled through your kerbside bin. If you can re-attach it to the jar, it will be recycled - but loose bottle jar lids/tops are sent to landfill. |
| Juice cartons - liquid paperboard | Landfill | These used to be accepted in our recycling bins, but they are not actually being recycled, so please put them in your landfill bin. |
| Kitty litter - compostable | Organics | Compostable kitty litter can go in your organics bin - if it's not compostable, please dispose of in your landfill bin. |
| Kitty litter | Landfill | Compostable kitty litter can go in your organics bin - if it's not compostable, please dispose of in your landfill bin. |
| Light globes - incandescent globes and halogens | Landfill | Please wrap before placing in your landfill bin. Never place light globes in your recycling bin. |
| Light globes - Fluorescent tubes, compact fluoros (CFLs), HIDs and metal halides | X | Never in your bins - recycle for free at your nearest Waste Facility. **Service not available at Inverloch Transfer Station. |
| Lolly wrappers | Landfill | Many confectionary bags are soft plastic, so can be accepted through the REDcycle program at your local Woolworths or Coles store. |
Magazines | Recycling | Check with your nearest opp shop - someone else might love to read your old mags! Primary schools and kindergartens often accept them for use in their art projects. |
| Mattresses | X | Recycle at your nearest Waste Facility - charges apply. |
| Meat scraps and bones | Organics | |
| Metal | X | Aluminium and steel cans can go in your recycling bin - but take scrap metal to your nearest Waste Facility for recycling. |
| Mobile Phones | X | Never in your bins. Recycle for free at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding Inverloch). |
| Motor oil | X | Never in your bins. Recycle up to 20L for free at your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Nail polish | X | Never in your bins. Dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
| Nappy - cloth | Landfill | |
| Nappy - disposable | Landfill | |
| Newspaper | Recycling | Newspaper can also go in your Organics bin, if you're running out of room in your Recycling bin. |
| Office furniture | X | If it's in good condition, take it to your preferred opp shop. If it's not reusable, take it to your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Oil - cooking | X | Small household quantities (up to 200mL) can go into your organics bin. Commercial quantities must be disposed of through private waste contractors. |
| Oil - motor | X | Never in your bins. Recycle up to 20L for free at your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Oral care waste | Landfill | Look out for TerraCycle's recycling program - San Remo Primary School in San Remo and Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch are Community Collection Hubs for oral care waste - please let Council's Waste Services team know if your business or community group also provides this service |
| Paint | X | Never in your bins. Paint can be recycled through the Paintback program at Wonthaggi Transfer Station. Council hopes to offer this service at other waste facilities in the future. Alternatively, dispose of paint through the Detox Your Home program. |
| Paint tins - empty | X | Empty paint tins (scraped clean) can be recycled for free at your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Paper | Recycling | Plain paper (not glossy, printed paper) can also go in your Organics bin, if you're running out of room in your Recycling bin. |
| Paper straws | Landfill | Whilst actually made of paper; these look so much like plastic straws that they are treated as contamination by our processors when found in our organic waste loads. |
| Paper towel | Organics | If you have paper towel for drying hands in your workplace's bathroom, install a bin just for the used paper towel - this can be emptied directly into your organics bin. |
| Perfume bottles | Landfill | Perfume bottles cannot be recycled through your kerbside recycling bin. |
| Petrol | X | Never in your bins. Dispose of through Detox Your Home program. |
| Photos | Landfill | |
| Plant pots | Landfill | Plant pots cannot be recycled through your Recycling bin or at Council's waste facilities. Check with your local nursery before you throw them in your landfill bin though: some nurseries accept plant pots for recycling. In Melbourne (Braeside) there is a company called Polymer Processors that will accept your pots for recycling. If you know of any other companies offering free plant pot recycling services, please let us know. |
| Plastic bags | Landfill | Don't forget to bring your own reusable bags! |
| Plastic cutlery | Landfill | Plastic cutlery can't be recycled through your Recycling bin. These problematic single use plastics will be banned across Victoria by 2023. |
| Plastic plates | Recycling | These problematic single use plastics will be banned across Victoria by 2023. |
| Plastic straws | Landfill | Plastic straws can't be recycled through your Recycling bin. These problematic single use plastics will be banned across Victoria by 2023. |
| Polystyrene | Landfill | Polystyrene cannot be recycled through your Recycling bin - even though it may have a 'recycling symbol' printed on it. Customers are encouraged to check with the point of purchase and ask if they provide a polystyrene recycling service. |
| Power tools | X | Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019 |
| Reading glasses / sunglasses | Landfill | Sunglasses and reading glasses can be recycled through Specsavers and Lions Recycle For Sight. To make a difference, simply bring your pre-loved glasses into your local Specsavers store and place them in the glasses recycling box, or hand them to a team member. If your preferred Optometrist offers a glasses recycling service, please let us know! |
| Seafood and fish | Organics | |
| Shoes | Landfill | If your shoes are in good enough condition to reuse, please donate them to a worthy cause. Thanks to Treadlightly and the Australian Sporting Goods Association, your unwanted sports shoes can be responsibly recycled to give them a new life. Treadlightly take a range of footwear (but not all!) including athletics lifestyle shoes, sports shoes, thongs and slides, football boots, hiking boots, work boots and gum boots. Unfortunately, shoes like heels, pumps or slides are not currently collected. Collection points are located at active-wear and shoe stores - look for your closest here. Ask your preferred store whether they accept used sports shoes for recycling - and if not, why not? |
| Shredded paper | Recycling | Shredded paper can also go in your Organics bin, if you're running out of room in your Recycling bin. Pop it in a paper bag or wrap in newspaper so it doesn't blow away when your bins are emptied. |
| Snowsports equipment | X | Tennis balls, basketballs, volleyablls, soccer balls and even snowsports equipment can be recycled through Game on Recycling. Check the website for your nearest collection point - and if your sporting club is not registered as a collection site yet, encourage them to get involved! |
| Soccer balls | X | Tennis balls, basketballs, volleyablls, soccer balls and even snowsports equipment can be recycled through Game on Recycling. Check the website for your nearest collection point - and if your sporting club is not registered as a collection site yet, encourage them to get involved! |
| Stationery | Landfill | Pens, hole punches, binders - if your stationery is in good enough condition to reuse, please donate to a worthy cause. Look out for TerraCycle's recycling program - Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch is a Community Collection Hub for biros / highlighters / markers / felt tips - please let Council's Waste Services team know if your business or community group also provides this service. |
| Steel cans | Recycling | |
| Steel pots and pans | Landfill | Steel pots and pans can be accepted for recycling as scrap metal at Council's waste facilities - but are not recyclable through your kerbside Recycling bin. |
| Sunglasses / reading glasses | Landfill | Sunglasses and reading glasses can be recycled through Specsavers and Lions Recycle For Sight. To make a difference, simply bring your pre-loved glasses into your local Specsavers store and place them in the glasses recycling box, or hand them to a team member. If your preferred Optometrist offers a glasses recycling service, please let us know! |
| Swimwear | Landfill | If your swimwear is in good enough condition to reuse, please donate to a worthy cause. |
| Syringes | X | Never put syringes in your bins - sharps containers can be collected from Council free of charge. |
| Tea and coffee grounds | Organics | |
| Tea bags | Organics | Please remove any staples. |
| Televisions | X | Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019. |
| Tennis balls | X | Tennis balls, basketballs, volleyablls, soccer balls and even snowsports equipment can be recycled through Game on Recycling. Check the website for your nearest collection point - and if your sporting club is not registered as a collection site yet, encourage them to get involved! |
| Tiles | Landfill | Small broken tiles go can into your landfill bin - to dispose of bulk amounts of tiles, head to your nearest Waste Facility. |
| Timber | X | Untreated wood pieces can go into your organics bin, but timber and timber products need to be disposed of at your nearest Waste Facility. **Service not available at Cowes Recycling Bank. |
| Tissues | Organics | Yes - even used tissues, with organic material attached. |
| Toothbrushes | Landfill | Look out for TerraCycle's recycling program - San Remo Primary School in San Remo and Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch are Community Collection Hubs for oral care waste - please let Council's Waste Services team know if your business or community group also provides this service |
| Toothpaste tubes | Landfill | Look out for TerraCycle's recycling program - San Remo Primary School in San Remo and Bunurong Environment Centre in Inverloch are Community Collection Hubs for oral care waste - please let Council's Waste Services team know if your business or community group also provides this service |
| Towels | Landfill | Get in touch with your local animal shelter or wildlife carer - many accept used towel donations to help keep animals warm and comfy. |
| Toys - powered | X | If your used toys are in good enough condition to reuse, please donate to a worthy cause. Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019. Terracycle have partnered with BigW to createToys for Joy, a free recycling program for all brands of pre-loved toys. Check with your local BigW to see if they offer this service - and if they don't, ask them to start! |
| Toys - unpowered | Landfill | If your used toys are good enough condition to reuse, please donate to a worthy cause. Terracycle have partnered with BigW to create Toys for Joy, a free recycling program for all brands of pre-loved toys. Check with your local BigW to see if they offer this service - and if they don't, ask them to start! If not, they must go into your landfill bin. Plastic toys are not recyclable through your kerbside recycling bin. |
| Tyres | X | Tyres can be recycled at Council's Transfer Stations in Grantville, Wonthaggi and Inverloch - the cost varies depending on the size/type of tyre, so check with the waste facility for further details |
| Vacuum cleaner dust | Landfill | |
| Vegetable scraps | Organics | |
| VHS tapes | Landfill | |
| Vinyl | Landfill | |
| Vitamin bottles/steel tubes | Recycling | |
| Watches | X | Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019. |
| Wax | Landfill | Old candles, waxy rinds from cheeses etc |
| Waxed cardboard | Landfill | |
| Weeds | Organics | Yes, even the weeds that can't be accepted as green waste at our transfer stations - like agapanthus, blackberry, mirror bush and english ivy. |
| White goods | X | If your used white goods are in good enough condition to reuse, please donate to a worthy cause. Never put e-waste in your bins - recycle at your nearest Waste Facility (excluding inverloch). Mobile phones and batteries are free - other items will incur a fee. Anything with a battery or a cord is deemed e-waste; the State Government banned e-waste from landfill in 2019. |
| X-rays | Landfill | There is a company in Melbourne that you can post x-rays to for recycling: CMA Ecocycle Check with your local Health Provider about whether they can accept your x-rays for recycling – if they do not already provide this service, perhaps they could consider becoming a collection point for Ecocycle or another similar company. |
| Yoghurt containers | Recycling | |
| Zip lock bags | Landfill | Soft plastics can be recycled at some supermarkets through Redcycle |
| ???? Not on the list? | #notonthelist | Give our Waste Services team a call on 1300 BCOAST (226 278) or send us an email - basscoast@basscoast.vic.gov.au |