What Goes in Your Bins

B-cycle your batteries and vapes!Disposing Combustibles being incorrectly put in wheelie bins

Council is now an accredited B-cycle battery steward with
B-cycle bins available at all our Citylibraries and the Stuart and Harvey Range Waste Transfer Stations, along with over 30 other B-cycle drop-off points across Townsville.

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.

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.

Waste Bins

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.

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.