Waste & recycling
When your bins go out, and how Clarence Valley Council handles recycling and bulky waste. The council runs a three-bin kerbside service: a red-lid general-waste bin collected weekly, a yellow-lid recycling bin collected fortnightly, and a green-lid garden-organics bin collected every four weeks. The green bin is garden organics only — the council doesn't yet run a combined food-and-garden (FOGO) service, but has resolved to move to fortnightly FOGO from 1 January 2027 (the NSW-wide FOGO mandate is 2030). Households on the weekly domestic-waste service can also book one free bulky-waste collection each financial year. To find your collection day, use the council's Clarence Valley Waste app or online 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)
- Weekly
- Recycling (yellow lid)
- Fortnightly
- Garden organics (green lid)
- Every 4 weeksGarden organics only — no food waste accepted; not yet a combined FOGO service. The council resolved on 1 December 2025 to move to a fortnightly food-and-garden (FOGO) service from 1 January 2027. NSW mandates FOGO for all households by 2030.
- Bulky / hard waste
- 1 free collection per household per financial yearAvailable to households that receive the weekly kerbside domestic-waste service. Book via the council's Bulky Waste Collection page.
- Problem waste & drop-off
- Community Recycling Centres — Grafton & MacleanFree drop-off (up to about 20 L / 20 kg per item type) for household problem waste such as batteries, fluoro globes, smoke detectors, paints, oils, gas bottles and e-waste, at the Grafton Regional Landfill (South Grafton) and Maclean Waste & Recycling Centre.
- Find your bin day
- Clarence Valley Waste app / online address lookupSee the link below.
Clarence Valley's green bin is garden-organics only for now; the council has resolved to move to a combined food-and-garden (FOGO) service from 1 January 2027, and FOGO is required across NSW by 2030. From May 2026 the council's waste and resource-recovery facilities are operated by Resource Recovery Australia. Bin frequencies, sizes 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.