Waste & recycling
When your bins go out, and how the Central Coast handles recycling and bulky waste. Most homes have a three-bin kerbside service run by Cleanaway on the council's behalf: a red-lid general-waste bin (140L) collected weekly, a yellow-lid recycling bin (240L) collected fortnightly, and a green-lid garden-vegetation bin (240L) collected fortnightly. The green garden bin is provided to properties east of the M1 Motorway; homes west of the M1 have a two-bin service. The green bin is garden-vegetation only — the council does not yet run a food-and-garden (FOGO) service, but is required to introduce FOGO by 2030 under NSW legislation. To find your collection day, use the council's 1Coast bin-collection lookup.
New to these terms? Read them in plain English
- FOGO
- The green bin that takes food scraps as well as garden waste.
- Bulky / hard waste collection
- Pickup or drop-off for large items that don't fit in your bins.
- Community Recycling Centre (CRC)
- A free drop-off for 'problem' waste like paint, batteries and oils.
- General waste (red lid)
- Weekly140L standard bin (240L or 360L upgrade available on request, for a fee).
- Recycling (yellow lid)
- Fortnightly240L — paper, cardboard, glass, hard plastics, steel and aluminium cans.
- Garden vegetation (green lid)
- Fortnightly240L; provided to properties east of the M1 Motorway only. Garden vegetation only — not yet a FOGO (food + garden) service. The council must introduce FOGO by 2030 under NSW legislation and is planning a processing facility at Buttonderry.
- Bulky / hard waste
- Up to 6 free on-call collections per yearEach up to 2 m³ (about a box-trailer load); entitlements reset on 1 February. Book first. Extra collections beyond the 6 are available for a fee with 2 business days' notice.
- Problem waste & drop-off
- Free — Community Recycling Centre, Buttonderry Waste Management FacilityFree drop-off of household problem waste: paints, motor and other oils, household and car batteries, gas bottles, smoke detectors, fire extinguishers, aerosols, fluoro globes and embedded-battery items. Two facilities operate: Buttonderry (north) and Woy Woy (south).
- Find your bin day
- Enter your address at 1Coast (Cleanaway)Use the official 1Coast bin-collection tool, or call 1300 1COAST (1300 126 278). See the links below.
The Central Coast green bin is garden-vegetation only and is provided east of the M1 Motorway; the council does not yet run a FOGO food-organics service but is required to introduce one by 2030. Bin frequencies and fees can change — confirm your collection day and current fees on the official sources 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.