Glass, tins, paper and cardboard

You can put glass jars and bottles (even the broken ones); all metals including tins and cans into your yellow recycling bin.

Always make sure they are loose (not in a bag), clean and bigger than the size of your hand. Metal lids are OK for your kerbside recycling bin however you'll need to pop any plastic lids in your general waste bin.

Paper and flattened cardboard can also be placed in your yellow top bin. Shredded paper is unfortunately too small to be processed locally so this also needs to be placed in your general waste bin - or better still, in your compost heap or worm farm.

Plastics

Hard plastics such as bottles, yoghurt containers, fruit and vegetable punnets, disposable plates etc can be placed in your yellow recycling bin. Always make sure they are loose (not in a bag), clean and bigger than the size of your hand. You'll need to pop any plastic lids in your general waste bin.

Soft or "scrunchable" plastics should be placed in your general waste bin. This includes Glad Wrap, food packaging, plastic bags, cellophane, gift wrapping, bubble wrap and even potting mix bags. 

Takeaway food and drink containers

Plastic takeaway food containers and cardboard-based vessels such as pizza boxes and french fry cartons, can be placed in your yellow top bin so long as they are clean and free from food residue.  

Any unclean food containers, along with plastic-lined cups (such as those typically used for items such as coffees, juices and milkshakes) need to be placed in the general waste bin (red or green topped depending on which bin system your local Council uses). Read more about which takeaway items can and can't be recycled.  

Clothing and shoes

Avoid placing clothing, other textiles and shoes in your general waste bin.

If they are good enough, passing items on to relatives and friends, or donating them to charity can be a good way to keep them out of landfill longer. Take a look at the Giv website to find the best local locations to donate. You can also sell your unwanted clothing at garage sales and via online swap and sales sites. For other ideas take a read of our article about what to do with clothes that aren't good enough to donate. 

Food waste

If you have a FOGO bin, you can put your food scraps in there - don't forget to remove any packaging before you add your food waste to your FOGO bin.

If you don't have a FOGO bin yet, there are many easy ways to compost at home. 

Batteries and printer cartridges

It’s important that you never put these items in your household bins!

Batteries contain hazardous material which we want to keep out of our landfill. The good news is there are readily available recycling schemes for these run by local councils as well as larger businesses such as ALDI, IKEA and Battery World.

Printer cartridges are 99% recyclable so we also want to keep these out of landfill too if we can. You can typically drop these off at your local Australia Post and other big retailers such as Office Works and JB HI Fi.

Learn more about hazardous waste and local disposal points.

Coffee pods

Because of their size coffee pods can be difficult for local councils to correctly recycle. The best thing you can do is to collect and recycle them through a dedicated scheme.

Lightbulbs, paints and other flammable liquids

These items are also classified as hazardous household waste and need to be recycled via a specialist program (not through your kerbside bin collections or kerbside pick ups). Read up on hazardous waste and where in WA you can take it. 

Electronic and electrical waste

So many of the materials in your old or broken TVs, computers, mobile phones and other electrical appliances can actually be recycled so never throw these in the bin. Some local councils hold regular e-waste collections or will be able to provide advice on the best way to recycle these items locally so check their website for advice.

Phones can be recycled through free schemes like MobileMuster.

Working items can also be taken to your local charity shop where they can be resold.

Hard waste

Hard waste is anything too large to fit into your regular bins. Most local councils provide scheduled collections or will provide a skip bin. Before throwing anything out, consider whether it could be reused or recycled. Many items can be donated to charities or sold or given away via online sites.

Mattresses

Most local councils will collect these as part of their scheduled hard waste collections or Soft Landing, an award winning local company, will come and collect old mattresses for recycling for a fee.

Tyres

Maintaining your tyres properly will make them last longer – saving not only waste but your money. Maintaining correct tyre pressure, having regular wheel alignments and keeping your brakes and suspension in order will all extend the life of your tyres.

When you do have to change them, ensure that your mechanic or tyre supplier is a Tyre Stewardship Accredited business which means your old tyres will be recycled and disposed of in the most environmentally friendly manner.