What Goes in Your Bins
B-cycle your batteries and vapes! Council is now an accredited B-cycle battery steward with Don't bin it, B-cycle it! Batteries placed in bins cause fires in our collection trucks, material recovery facilities, and in landfills. Through the free B-cycle scheme, up to 95% of a battery’s components can be turned into new batteries or used in other industries. To find your nearest B-cycle drop-off point visit bcycle.com.au |
Despite our residents being avid recyclers, audit data has shown that there are a lot of materials not suitable for recycling still being placed in the yellow lidded bin. Townsville’s contamination rate is currently 27% - which means for every 1,000kg of material presented in our bins and sent to our Material Recovery Facility, 270kg of it needs to be sent to the landfill. This costs the council money, risks the safety of our workers, and damages the recycling facility equipment .
Use the drop-down options below to see what can go in your yellow lid recycling bin, and what material should be placed into the red lid general waste bin.
For quick reference, download the A-Z Guide to Waste and Recycling below to find out where you can dispose of your waste items.
- A-Z Guide to Waste and Recycling (PDF, 3.5 MB)
Visit our Recycle Right page for more information on recycling.
Recycling Bins
Remember to place items in loosely (not in plastic bags) to assist in the sorting process.
What Can Go in My Recycling Bin?
The yellow-lid recycling bin is for common household packaging materials. You can put the following things in your recycling bin (remember to place items in loosely to assist in the sorting process):
Cardboard boxes and packaging
- cardboard (including corrugated cardboard)
- cereal boxes and egg cartons
- laundry detergent boxes
- long-life and alternatives milks, fruit juice cartons
- manilla folders
- pizza boxes (greasy stains and food scraps to be removed)
- removalist boxes
tissue boxes and toilet rolls
Firm plastic containers and bottles
- biscuit, sushi trays
- cleaning product bottles (domestic only)
- margarine containers
- milk, juice, cordial bottles
- shampoo and conditioner bottles
- soft drink bottles*
- strawberry and other fruit punnet containers
- takeaway containers
- yoghurt tubs
Glass bottles and jars
- beer, wine and spirits bottles*
- beverage bottles
- jam jars
- sauce bottles and jars
- vitamin jars
Paper
- envelopes (including window envelopes)
- glossy magazines
- greeting cards
- junk mail and brochures
- newspapers
- notepaper and scrap paper
- office paper (white and coloured)
- paper bags
- phone books
- receipts
- wrapping and packaging paper
Steel and aluminium
- aerosol cans (empty)
- aluminium foil (scrunched into a fist-sized ball)
- food cans (aluminium or steel)
- soft drink cans*
- paint tins (empty and dry)
*Drinking cans and bottles may also be accepted with Container Exchange program, with wine and spirit bottles accepted from 1 November 2023.
What Can’t Go in My Recycle Bin?
Do not put the following items in your recycle bin:
- appliances
- batteries - all types including vapes
- broken miscellaneous items
- Biopak cups and containers (biodegradable hard plastics)
- blister packs
- bread clips
- coat hangers (plastic, metal)
- coffee cups and pods
- ceramics and crockery, pots, pans and heatproof dishes (e.g. Pyrex)
- drinking glasses
- e-waste (CDs, DVDs, fluorescent tubes, kitchen appliances)
- food waste
- garden waste, including timber, bricks and soil
- gas bottles, helium tanks, and other hazardous material*1
- glass from broken drinkware, windows or mirrors
- Non-packaging plastic items (CD cases, plastic plant pots, Tupperware containers, Toys)*2
- light bulbs
- medical waste including needles
- nappies
- needles, syringes
- polystyrene (expanded foam - e.g. packaging) *3
- rubber items
- scrap metal
- soft plastics - If you can scrunch plastic into a ball place it in the red-lidded bin (bubble wrap, chip packaging, plastic shopping bags, zip lock bags).
- surgical face masks
- textiles (clothes, fabric, linen, towels)
- toilet paper, tissues, wax-coated paper (baking paper) and wax-coated boxes
- toothpaste tubes
- vapes and e-cigarettes
- wetsuits
*1 - E-waste, gas bottles, fluorescent light tubes and white goods can be dropped off to our waste transfer stations year-round for free.
*2 - These types of plastics cannot be recycled through the kerbside yellow bin.
*3 - Clean Polystyrene from packaging can be dropped off to Hervey Range Waste Transfer Station to be recycled year-round for free.
Free Recycling Resources
Recycle Right fridge magnets and bin stickers are available for free from any of our Customer Service Centres or CityLibraries.
- Download our comprehensive guide to Recycling At Home (PDF, 3.1 MB)
Not suitable for either bin? Your options for reusing and recycling:
Just because something can't go into your recycling or waste bin doesn't mean it has to end up in a landfill. Many items can be recycled through other means or even sold or donated if they're in good condition. Find out what you can take to our transfer stations for free.
Head to your local charity store to re-home unwanted clothes, toys and household furniture. These items can be donated to op shops, men's or women's shelters, the RSPCA or church organisations.
If donating bulky items, like furniture, call before dropping them off to make sure the charity has the capacity to accept the item/s. Some can even pick up donations from your home.
Waste Bins
What Can Go in My Waste Bin?
You can put the following things in your waste bin:
- Broken ceramics and crockery
- Food scraps
- General rubbish
- Grass clippings and other green waste (must fit inside your bin, and grass clippings must be bagged)
- Light globes
- Meat and bones
- Nappies and sanitary waste
Non-recyclable plastics can also go in your waste bin.
Examples of non-recyclable plastics include:
- CDs, DVDs and VCR tapes
- Plastic bags
- Polystyrene
- Soft plastics like bubble wrap and cling film
What Can’t Go in My Waste Bin?
Do not put the following items into your waste bin:
- Batteries
- Car parts, including batteries (batteries can be disposed for free at transfer stations)
- Chemicals, paints and solvents (Hervey Range only - Up to 100L in containers of 20L or less can be disposed of for free at transfer stations)
- Gas bottles, and any other corrosive and flammable items (gas bottles up to 9kg can be disposed of for free at transfer stations)
- Hot ashes and liquids
- Oil (up to 20L can be disposed of for free at transfer stations)
- Recyclable products that should be placed in your recycle bin
- Sharps and needles
- TVs and computers (up to 20 pieces can be disposed of for free at transfer stations)
- Vapes and e-cigarettes
Do Not Bin Combustible and Hazardous Waste
Disposing of batteries and other combustible and hazardous waste through general waste bins or recycling bins puts our people and equipment in danger due to the risk of fire. Please help protect our people and environment by correctly disposing of combustible and hazardous items.
Household Batteries and Vapes
Batteries are the most common form of hazardous household waste in Australia. When disposed of in household or workplace bins, batteries (including the ones in vapes) can cause fires in our collection trucks, material recovery facilities, and in landfills.
Don’t bin it, B-Cycle it! Household batteries and vapes can be dropped off for free at B-Cycle points at over 30 locations across Townsville, including all our Citylibraries and the Stuart and Hervey Range Waste Transfer Stations. When safely recycled through the B-cycle scheme, up to 95% of a battery’s components can be turned into new batteries or used in other industries. Help us make a positive impact by responsibly recycling your household batteries.
Removable batteries from a range of household items can be B-cycled, including:
- Standard sized household batteries used to power everyday items including AA, AAA, AAAA, C, D, 9V and 6V batteries.
- Button batteries that power small electronic items such as watches and hearing aids.
- Rechargeable batteries up to 5kg.
- Easily removable batteries from items such as cameras, power tools, e-bikes and e-scooters*.
- Batteries from vapes and e-cigarettes. (no need to dismantle, just drop them in whole)
For your nearest B-Cycle point, visit bcycle.com.au/drop-off
* Batteries from power tools, e-bikes and e-scooters can only be dropped off at select B-cycle points. Search by battery type and location for these batteries.
Car batteries, gas bottles and motor oil
Lead acid car batteries, gas bottles and motor oil are free to drop off at your nearest resource recovery facility year-round, along with household items like white goods, air conditioners and green waste.
Paint
Paint is free to dispose of at the Hervey Range Transfer Station at the Paintback drop-off point. Up to 100L can be disposed of in containers of 20L or less - conditions apply. (Paint cannot be disposed of at the other Resource Recovery Facilities).
Other Combustibles
We do not accept solvents, liquids, chemical waste, flares, explosives or combustible materials; however, you can take these items to Cleanaway in the Bohle for disposal (paint can also be disposed of there).
Keep out your plastic bags
Recyclable items must be put in the recycling bin loose. Do not put them into plastic bags. If you put bottles, cans and other recyclable materials into plastic bags when you put them into the recycling bin, they will not be recycled.
Used plastic bags can be:
- Reused for your grocery shopping or as a lunch bag
- Reused as bin liners for your household waste
- Disposed of in the general waste bin.
Let's get it sorted at home
- Make sure you know what you can and can’t recycle.
- Always separate your recycling from your rubbish.
- Store your recyclables in a box or container until you are ready to visit the recycling bin.
- Never put your recycling into the waste bin.
- Recyclable items must be placed into the recycling bin loose – don’t use plastic bags.