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Waste & recycling

Waste & recycling

How Merri-bek's household bins work today. Most homes on the council's service have four bins, all put out on the same day: general rubbish (red or dark green lid) and food and garden organics (light green lid), both collected every week; mixed recycling (yellow lid), every 2 weeks; and glass (purple lid), every 4 weeks. Use the council's waste calendar to find your collection days. The council has decided to move all homes to fortnightly rubbish collection from July 2027.

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

Collection delays north of Bell Street (from 28 Sep 2026)
Some household bins north of Bell Street may be missed during union industrial actionThe council says the Australian Services Union (ASU) has told it that it intends to miss every fifth residential bin as part of industrial action. If your bin isn't collected, leave it out and the council will collect it as soon as it can. Collections south of Bell Street are done by an external contractor and aren't affected.Council notice →
General rubbish (red or dark green lid)
Every weekFor household items that can't be reused or recycled. Wrap broken glass and other sharp objects. Standard bin is 80 litres (120 and 240 litres cost more). Put bins out by 5.30am on collection day. In the fortnightly rubbish trial areas (parts of Hadfield, Brunswick and Brunswick West, since July 2025) rubbish is collected every 2 weeks.General rubbish bins →
Food and garden organics (light green lid)
Every weekFood scraps and leftovers, plus garden waste. The council says the contents go to the Veolia organics facility in Bulla, where they are turned into compost and soil conditioner.What goes in this bin →
Mixed recycling (yellow lid)
Every 2 weeksPaper and cardboard, rigid plastic bottles and containers, and steel and aluminium cans, put in loose. Glass bottles and jars go in the glass bin; soft plastics, cartons and anything in plastic bags don't go in recycling. Some large apartment buildings have weekly recycling collection.What goes in recycling →
Glass (purple lid)
Every 4 weeksGlass bottles and jars only, empty, loose, with lids firmly on. Drinking glasses, window glass, mirrors, Pyrex and crockery go in the rubbish bin, wrapped. Some residents, mostly in units and apartment blocks, take glass to a drop-off point instead; the council says it has contacted them.Glass recycling →
Fortnightly rubbish for all homes
From July 2027The council decided at its meeting on 10 June 2026 to move to fortnightly rubbish collection across the municipality from July 2027. It says the standard rubbish bin will increase to 140 litres, the maximum to 480 litres a fortnight, paid one-off extra collections will be available, and a pensioner concession will be introduced. Large apartment buildings may keep weekly collection where the council decides fortnightly isn't workable.Council announcement →
Booked hard waste
2 m³ a year included for properties paying the waste chargeBook online or with the council's contractor, WM Waste Management, on (03) 9721 1915; bookings are usually 2–4 weeks ahead. The allocation can be one 2 m³ collection or two of 1 m³, and can include bundled branches or bulk cardboard. It renews on 1 July. Paid collections: $100 for 1 m³, $200 for 2 m³, $50 for 1 m³ of bulk cardboard.Hard waste →
Drop-off
No tip in Merri-bek; small-item recycling stations at the Coburg, Brunswick and Glenroy customer service centresThe council says it has no tip or landfill site in Merri-bek, and points to nearby transfer stations on its waste and recycling locations page. The free recycling cabinets take mobile phones, household batteries, light globes and tubes, vapes, CDs and DVDs, and digital cameras.Recycling stations →
Find your bin day
Council waste calendar (address lookup)Check your bin day →

We describe the bins the way the council does. Your bins are paid for through a separate waste charge on your rates notice, which depends on the size of each bin (see Rates & fees). Merri-bek already has the four bins in the state's standard colours for recycling, glass and food and garden waste. Frequencies, bin sizes and charges are due to change in July 2027, 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.