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Waste & recycling

Waste & recycling

How Greater Geelong's bins work today. Most households have three bins: a red rubbish bin, a yellow recycling bin and a green garden bin. The garden bin takes garden waste only. Food scraps still go in the red bin, because the council doesn't yet collect food waste; it plans to from 2027–28. Glass bottles and jars go in the yellow bin, and there is no separate glass bin. Use the council's address lookup 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

Rubbish (red lid)
WeeklyThe council's rubbish-bin page says to put it out every week. Food scraps, nappies, soft plastics, clothing and drink cartons go in this bin. E-waste, batteries, paint, chemicals and building materials don't. New and replacement red bins are 120 litres; you can pay to upsize to 240 litres.What goes in the red bin →
Recycling (yellow lid)
Collection frequency: see your bin calendarHard plastic containers (codes 1, 2 and 5), glass bottles and jars, clean paper and cardboard, and metal lids, cans and foil, put in loose, not bagged. Drink cartons, soft plastics, glassware and crockery, and polystyrene stay out. The council's recycling page doesn't state how often this bin is collected, so check the calendar for your address.What goes in the yellow bin →
Garden waste (green or lime-green lid)
Fortnightly — garden waste onlyTwigs, small branches, plants, leaves and grass clippings, put in loose. No food scraps, plastic, treated timber, soil or bagged material. The council has been fitting the state's lime-green lid to new and replacement garden bins since late 2023, but those bins are still garden-only, like the older green ones. Garden waste is composted at the council's Anakie facility.What goes in the garden bin →
Food waste and glass bins
Food and garden (FOGO) bin planned from 2027–28; glass bin on holdVictorian law requires councils to offer a glass service and a food and garden organics service. The state's new lid colours are purple for glass, lime green for food and garden organics, yellow for mixed recycling and red for general rubbish. The council says it is working towards a combined food and garden organics bin from 2027–28. In December 2025 the councillors resolved to defer committing to a kerbside glass bin, citing cost, inefficiency, duplication of existing programs and local needs, and to keep advocating with more than 30 other councils for a more flexible glass service. That is the council's stated position; the state requirement still stands.What's changing →
Hard waste and mattresses
2 hard waste and 2 mattress collections per financial yearFor residential properties that pay the full waste management charge. Book online; up to 3 cubic metres per hard waste collection and up to 2 mattresses per mattress booking. Since January 2026, mattress-style bed bases need a hard waste booking. Put items out by the Sunday night before your collection week, within 5 metres of the front boundary. Cancel by the Thursday before, or it counts as one of your collections.Book hard waste →
Drop-off: Drysdale Resource Recovery Centre
Becks Road (off Murradoc Road), Drysdale — 8am–4.15pmThe council says its free drop-off service is for Greater Geelong residents only and not for commercial quantities; general rubbish is charged by load size (for example $83 for a ute or single-axle trailer up to 0.75 m³ from 1 July 2026). Closed Christmas Day, New Year's Day and Good Friday, and it may close on very windy days. Phone 03 5251 2935.Fees and opening hours →
Drop-off: Geelong Resource Recovery Centre (interim)
21 Slevin Street, North Geelong — 8am–4.15pm, 7 daysA smaller temporary site while the main centre at 100 Douro Street is redeveloped. It takes common free recyclables only: clean glass bottles, flattened cardboard, small e-waste and appliances, televisions, vapes, wet-cell car batteries, gas BBQ bottles up to 9 kg and clean polystyrene. Greater Geelong residents only. Phone 03 5272 5101.What's accepted →
Find your bin day
Council address lookup (bin collection calendar)Check your bin day →

We describe the bins the way the council does. Greater Geelong's lime-green garden bins look like the state's food and garden organics bin, but until the council starts food waste collection they take garden waste only. The council's resource recovery centres are for Greater Geelong residents; the Borough of Queenscliffe's pages also point its residents to the Drysdale centre, so Queenscliffe residents should check with the operator first. Services and charges 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.