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Waste & recycling

Waste & recycling

How Ballarat's bins work today. Since November 2025, households with a council kerbside service have four bins: a red-lid rubbish bin, a yellow-lid recycling bin, a lime-green-lid food and garden organics (FOGO) bin and a purple-lid glass bin. Food scraps go in the FOGO bin, and glass bottles and jars go in the glass bin, not the yellow bin. The council is reviewing the four-bin service, including how often each bin is collected; its survey closes on 30 September 2026. Use the council's address search to find your bin days.

New to these terms? Read them in plain English
Bulky / hard waste collection
Pickup or drop-off for large items that don't fit in your bins.
See the full explainer, with formulas →

Bin collection at a glance

Household waste (red lid)
WeeklyThe council's page describes a 140-litre red-lid bin; some older bins have a dark-green lid. Nappies, soft plastics, polystyrene, clothing, crockery, drinking glasses and pet waste go in this bin. Batteries, e-waste, paint, chemicals, building waste, food and garden waste don't. The contents go to the Ballarat Regional Landfill.What goes in the rubbish bin →
Mixed recycling (yellow lid)
FortnightlyPaper and cardboard, plastic bottles and containers (codes 1, 2 and 5), and aluminium and steel cans, put in loose, not bagged. Glass bottles and jars go in the glass bin, not here. No coffee cups, soft plastics or plastics coded 3, 4, 6 or 7.What goes in the yellow bin →
Food and garden organics — FOGO (lime-green lid)
FortnightlyFood scraps (including meat, bones, dairy and seafood), coffee grounds, paper towel, tissues, grass clippings, leaves, small branches and weeds. No plastic bags, nappies, pet waste, tea bags, coffee pods, soil or large branches. The council says FOGO is mandatory for households with a residential waste service; there is no opt-out. The council's bin-request page describes it as a 240-litre bin with a green lid.What goes in the FOGO bin →
Glass (purple lid)
Every four weeksEmpty glass bottles and jars, lids off. No drinking glasses, crockery, window or mirror glass, Pyrex or light globes. The council says households with a residential waste service can't opt out. Glass bottles and jars can also be dropped off free at the Transfer Station.What goes in the glass bin →
Hard waste
No kerbside collection yet — 2 free Transfer Station vouchers a yearResidential properties with a council kerbside service receive two free Ballarat Transfer Station vouchers each year, in the waste brochure delivered in July. The 2026–27 budget funds the set-up of a hard waste collection service beginning 1 July 2027.Hard waste options →
Drop-off: Ballarat Transfer Station
119 Gillies Street South, Alfredton — Mon–Fri 8am–4pm; weekends and public holidays 10am–4pmTakes residential quantities of green waste, hard waste, recycling, cardboard, household chemicals, e-waste and textiles; not commercial waste. Prices differ for City of Ballarat residents and non-residents, so bring photo ID. Closed Christmas Day, New Year's Day, Anzac Day and Good Friday, and may close above 38°C, in winds gusting over 60 km/h or under fire restrictions.Fees and what's accepted →
Find your bin day
Council address search and yearly digital calendarCheck your bin day →

We describe the bins the way the council does. Lid colours: the council's FOGO page says lime green and its bin-request page says green; older rubbish bins may have a dark-green lid, so go by what the council says each bin is for, not by colour. Bins must be out by 6am on collection day. Collection frequencies may change after the four-bin service review, which the council says will go to Council later in 2026. Services change, so check the council's pages below.

Sources — check it yourself

Figures are current as at the dates shown and may change — always confirm with the linked source. See the notice at the bottom of the page for full details and how to report a correction.