Kerbside bins

Three bins sit against a fence.

Organics bin

You can see here what can and cannot be placed in your green Food Organics & Garden Organics (FOGO) bin.

Why have the rules for the green bin recently changed?

Councils and our commercial compost facilities need to comply with state government legislation and policy (see below). Recent testing has also found that many fibre-based products claim to be compostable but not only do these products add little to no nutritional value to compost, but contain chemicals and substances, such as per- and polyfluroalkyl substances (PFAS), that can harm the environment and our health. Keeping those potentially harmful items out of our green bins means that we can create high-quality commercial compost to support food production and soil health.

What can go in your green bin?

  • Fruit and vegetable scraps
  • Meat and bones
  • Seafood and shells
  • Pasta, bread, rice and cereals
  • Eggs and dairy products
  • Loose tea leaves and coffee grinds
  • Grass and garden clippings (leaves, clippings, weeds, etc)
  • Agricultural manure

  • Council-approved compostable kitchen caddy liners that comply with AS 4736-2006 and newspaper / paper used to wrap food scraps

What can't go in your green bin

  • Fibre-based products (bamboo, cardboard, paper etc) can no longer be placed in your green bin
  • Paper towels, serviettes, tissues, napkins
  • Compostable or biodegradable products (excluding AS 4736-2006 kitchen caddy liners)
  • Vacuum cleaner dust
  • Washing machine and dryer lint
  • Pet poo and poo bags
  • Tea and coffee bags
  • Treated wood and timber

Kitchen caddies

Kitchen caddies and liners can be purchased from the following locations:

  • Lismore City Council Corporate Centre, 43 Oliver Avenue, Goonellabah.
  • The Revolve Shop at the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre, 313 Wyrallah Road, East Lismore.

Caddies are $8 and a roll of Compost-a-Pak compostable bin liners is $6.50.

Recycling bin

You can see here what can and cannot be placed in your yellow recycling bin.

What can go in your yellow bin

  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Plastic containers
  • Paper and cardboard
  • Steel and aluminium cans

What can't go in your yellow bin

  • Food and liquid still in containers
  • Plastic bags
  • Take away coffee cups
  • Clothing/fabric
  • Household chemicals
  • Batteries, light bulbs or other problem household waste 

Recycle Right

Your 6 Recycle Right Routines

#1: Keep it simple: Only recycle household items made of plastic, glass, steel, aluminium, paper and cardboard.

#2: Keep out soft plastics: Soft plastics include plastic bags, soft plastic packaging, cling wrap, pasta packets, bread bags, biscuit trays, etc. We can no longer accept bags of soft plastics or soft plastics of any kind in the recycling bin.

#3: Keep out small items: Don't put anything smaller than a credit card in your recycling bin, including bottle lids, bread tags, and straws. Put small paper or cardboard in your green organics bin and other small items in your red landfill bin. You can recycle larger lids like yoghurt tub lids, with or without the container.

#4: Keep it safe: Keep hazardous items out of the recycling bin to protect our workers and machines. Avoid things that can cause harm, or get wrapped around machinery like strapping, cords, clothing, hose, netting, wire, building materials, and chemicals.

#5: Keep it clean: Keep it clean by rinsing or wiping out your containers of any food or drink. This also means keeping out items that will contaminate your recycling bin.

#6: Keep it loose: Don’t bag or box your recyclables – place them loose into your recycling bin. Things move quickly along the conveyor belts at the Materials Recovery Facility and there is no time for staff to sort out bags or boxes.

Download a copy 

RecycleRight fact sheet(PDF, 2MB)

 

Need a bigger recycling bin?

If you are having trouble fitting your recyclables in a 240-litre wheelie bin, you can buy a 360-litre bin for a one-off fee. Phone us on (02) 6625 0500 to arrange.

 

Landfill bin

You can see here what can and cannot be placed in your red landfill bin.

What can go in your red bin

  • soft plastics 
  • disposable nappies
  • takeaway coffee cups
  • fibre-based food packaging (bamboo, cardboard, paper etc)
  • personal hygiene and medical waste (no sharps)
  • pet droppings in a plastic bag
  • tablet packaging
  • rope, string and electric cable
  • scrap metal and appliances (can also be recycled at the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre for a small fee) - see fees and charges
  • polystyrene (can also be recycled at the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre free of charge)

     

What can't go in your red bin

  • Hazardous materials such as asbestos, batteries, paint, gas cylinders, tyres, large amounts of soil or building materials. These need to be taken to the Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre

  

Waste education resources

To help you remember what items belong in each bin, pick up a ‘What goes in your bins’ fridge magnet from the following locations:

  • Council’s Corporate Centre
  • Lismore Recycling & Recovery Centre
  • Lismore & Goonellabah Libraries
  • Nimbin Transfer Station

Download a copy of the ‘What goes in our bins’ fridge magnet(PDF, 294KB).

You can also search through our handy A-Z Guide to find out what waste goes where, in your kerbside bins and beyond. Download a copy of the A to Z Guide: Reuse, Recycle & Disposal(PDF, 2MB). 

 

 

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