← Buloke Shire Council
Waste & recycling

Waste & recycling

Households in Buloke's townships have a 120-litre rubbish bin collected every week and a 240-litre mixed recycling bin collected every second week. There is no kerbside food or garden organics bin. Glass bottles and jars don't go in the recycling bin: take them to one of the free glass drop-off points. Put your bins out the night before collection day; if your bin isn't out when the truck comes, it won't come back.

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

Rubbish (general waste)
Weekly — 120-litre red-lid binCollection day by town, from the council's 2026–27 calendar: Charlton, Watchem and Birchip on Mondays; Nullawil, Culgoa, Berriwillock, Sea Lake, Nandaly and Wycheproof on Thursdays; Donald and the Corack rural route on Fridays. No hard waste, green waste, gas bottles, bricks, concrete, electrical items, paint tins or farm chemicals.2026–27 collection calendar (PDF) →
Mixed recycling
Fortnightly — 240-litre yellow-lid binPlastic bottles and containers, aluminium and steel cans, paper and cardboard. No plastic bags, polystyrene, waxed cartons, pizza boxes or glass. The calendar marks which weeks are recycling weeks for each group of towns. You can also take your recycling bin to a council landfill free of charge.Waste collection schedule →
Glass
Free drop-off points — not in the yellow binTake rinsed glass bottles and jars, lids off, to the Birchip or Sea Lake landfill, or the Charlton, Donald or Wycheproof transfer station. Or use a town drop-off point in Birchip, Berriwillock, Charlton, Culgoa, Donald, Nandaly, Nullawil, Sea Lake, Watchem or Wycheproof. The council's older 'Recyclable Products' page still lists glass as recyclable in the bin; the Glass Recycling page is the current instruction.Glass drop-off locations →
Food and garden organics
No kerbside collectionGarden waste can go to a council landfill or transfer station for a fee (from $16 in the 2026–27 fees schedule). The schedule lists green waste as free for local residents in October. In July 2026 the council joined other Victorian councils in asking the state to review its planned mandatory glass-only kerbside service. We found no published start date in Buloke for the state's four-bin reform.Landfill fees and hours →
Hard rubbish
Trial only — no permanent kerbside serviceThe council trialled a kerbside hard waste collection in Berriwillock, Nandaly and Sea Lake in June 2026, and in Birchip and Watchem from 9 to 16 September 2026 (e-waste, one mattress, furniture and scrap metal, up to 3 cubic metres per household). It will use the results to decide whether to offer the service across the shire. Otherwise take bulky items to a transfer station (mattresses $52).Hard waste trial →
Landfills and transfer stations (tips)
Birchip (Corack Rd) — Mon and Fri 1.30–4.30pm, Wed 9.30am–12.30pm, Sun 10am–1pm; Charlton (St Arnaud Rd) — Mon, Wed and Fri 1.30–5.30pm, Sun 9am–5pm; Donald (Depot Rd) — Mon and Thu 9am–1.30pm, Tue and Fri 1–5.30pm, Sun 10am–5pm; Sea Lake (Robinvale Rd) — Mon and Fri 9.30am–12.30pm, Wed 1.30–4.30pm, Sun 2–5pm; Wycheproof (Mackies Rd) — Mon and Fri 2.30–5.30pm, Wed 9am–12pm, Sun 12–5pm; Watchem (Morton St, recycling only) — Wed and Sun 4–5pmEFTPOS only. Transfer stations take up to 2 cubic metres of general waste; concrete and bricks go only to the Birchip and Donald landfills. E-waste goes to the council's landfills and transfer stations (small items $3, TVs and monitors $15). The council says the sites can stay open on Total Fire Ban days unless it announces a closure; its page also says the Sea Lake transfer station won't operate on those days.Hours and fees →
Missed bin
Call 1300 520 520Collection changes for Easter, Christmas, Boxing Day and New Year's Day are advertised in local papers, on social media and on the council website.Call →

Kerbside waste and recycling are provided in all of the shire's townships; the council's calendar also lists a Corack rural route. The kerbside service is paid for through the waste management service charge on your rates notice ($496 in 2026–27; see Rates & fees). Lid colours are the ones the council's Glass Recycling page gives.

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.