Waste & recycling
When your bins go out, and how Port Stephens 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 fortnightly. The green bin is garden organics only — the current waste contract doesn't allow food waste, and the council has said it plans to introduce a combined food-and-garden (FOGO) service under its next waste contract (the NSW-wide FOGO mandate is 2030). Residents can also book up to two free on-call kerbside collections a year for bulky items and green waste. To find your collection day, use the council's kerbside-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)
- Weekly
- Recycling (yellow lid)
- Fortnightly
- Garden organics (green lid)
- FortnightlyGarden organics only — no food waste accepted under the current contract; not yet a combined FOGO service. The council has said FOGO will come with its next waste contract; NSW mandates FOGO for all households by 2030.
- Bulky / hard waste & green waste
- 2 free on-call kerbside collections per household per financial yearBook online via the council's booking portal or call 1300 734 470.
- Problem waste & drop-off
- Salamander Bay Waste Transfer Station & Community Recycling CentreFree drop-off at the CRC (4 Tarrant Road, Salamander Bay) for household problem waste — paint, gas bottles, motor and other oils, car and household batteries, smoke detectors, fluoro globes and tubes. E-waste can also go to Veolia Raymond Terrace Resource Recovery Park (Newline Road).
- Find your bin day
- Council's kerbside-collection page (address lookup)See the link below.
Port Stephens' green bin is garden-organics only; a combined food-and-garden (FOGO) service is required across NSW by 2030 and the council has said it will introduce one with its next waste contract. 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.