Waste & recycling
When your bins go out, and how North Sydney Council handles recycling and bulky waste. The council collects a red-lid general-waste bin and a yellow-lid recycling bin at the kerb; the green-lid garden-organics bin is an opt-in extra you order and pay for, and it takes garden waste only — North Sydney doesn't yet run a combined food-and-garden (FOGO) service (the NSW-wide FOGO mandate is 2030). For bulky household items that don't fit the red bin, the council runs a booked kerbside collection every second Monday. To find your collection day, use the council's waste page.
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)
- Kerbside collectionCollected Monday–Friday mornings from 5.30am; check your collection day on the council's waste page.
- Recycling (yellow lid)
- Kerbside collectionCollected alongside the red bin; confirm your day and frequency on the official waste page below.
- Garden organics (green lid)
- Opt-in garden-waste bin (extra charge)You order a garden-greens bin via the council's form; garden waste only — no food waste accepted; not a combined FOGO service. NSW mandates FOGO for all households by 2030.
- Bulky / household waste
- Booked kerbside collection every second MondayUp to about 2 m³ for a single residence (0.5 m³ per unit in a multi-unit building). Book by 4pm the Sunday before via the waste hotline on 1300 799 019 or online.
- Problem waste & recycling
- A–Z recycling directoryThe council's A–Z guide covers tricky items like batteries, light globes, e-waste and chemicals, and where to take them.
- Find your bin day
- Council's waste & recycling page (collection-day lookup)See the link below.
North Sydney's green bin is an opt-in garden-organics service; a combined food-and-garden (FOGO) service is required across NSW by 2030. 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.