Waste & recycling
When your bins go out, and how Upper Hunter Shire Council handles recycling and organics. The council runs a three-bin kerbside service built around a weekly food-and-garden-organics (FOGO) bin: a green-lid FOGO bin (food scraps plus garden waste) collected weekly, with the red-lid general-waste bin and the yellow-lid recycling bin collected on alternate fortnights. Bulky (hard) waste is collected periodically town-by-town — Scone, Aberdeen, Merriwa and Murrurundi are done on scheduled dates rather than on-demand. Waste management facilities operate at Aberdeen, Merriwa, Murrurundi and Scone, and a Community Recycling Centre at the Scone facility takes problem waste. To find your collection day, use the council's waste-collection 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.
- WeeklyA 240L green-lid bin taking food scraps and garden organics together — Upper Hunter runs a combined FOGO service (introduced under its Waste Management Strategy 2021–31).
- General waste (red lid)
- FortnightlyCollected on the alternate fortnight to recycling.
- Recycling (yellow lid)
- FortnightlyCollected on the alternate fortnight to general waste.
- Bulky / hard waste
- Periodic scheduled kerbside collection by townScone, Aberdeen, Merriwa and Murrurundi are collected on set dates (not on-demand). Stack neatly at the kerb; volume should not exceed a ~2 m³ box trailer. Check the council for the next date in your town.
- Waste management facilities
- Aberdeen, Merriwa, Murrurundi & SconeMany items not taken in the bulky collection are accepted at the facilities; fees may apply for some loads.
- Problem waste & drop-off
- Community Recycling Centre — Scone Waste Management FacilityPlus mobile CRC units for household batteries, fluoro globes and small e-waste (no larger than a laptop). Free drop-off, quantity limits apply.
- Find your bin day
- Council's kerbside waste-collection page (see link below)
Upper Hunter runs a combined food-and-garden (FOGO) green bin collected weekly, with red general waste and yellow recycling on alternate fortnights. 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.