We audit your bins to keep the wrong things out of general waste, recycling and organics, and to help you understand what should go in each bin.
Audits and contamination
The City of Greater Bendigo monitors the contents of household bins to help educate our community about putting the right thing in the right bin. This helps to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill, and recover valuable resources to be recycled or composted.
When items are disposed of in the wrong bins, it creates lots of problems:
- Contamination
For example, if food goes in the recycling bin, it can make paper and cardboard dirty and they can no longer be recycled. - Damage to machines and materials
Certain items like cords, netting and rope can break sorting machines or ruin other recyclables. - Harder and more expensive to sort
Loads with the wrong things in them need extra work, which costs more money. - More rubbish ends up in landfill
If a truckload is badly contaminated, it might all go to landfill instead of being recycled or composted. - Safety risks
Things like batteries and electronics can start fires in trucks or at sorting centres. - Wasting useful resources
Food in the general waste bin could have been composted to make healthy soil. Recyclables in the general waste bin could have been turned into something else and used again. - Harm to the environment
Putting recyclables or compostables in landfill creates more greenhouse gases and pollution.
Contamination in Bendigo
Based on audits we do each year, we know that nearly half of the average general waste bin in Greater Bendigo could have been recycled or composted if it was sorted properly.
When the general waste bin fills up too quickly, it can cause overflow into other bins, contaminating the organics and recycling stream.
We also know there can be a lot of confusion about what can be recycled, and what can go in the organics bin. Our colour coded A-Z guide includes a comprehensive list of items, which bin they belong in, or where to take them.
The City of Greater Bendigo monitors the contents of bins in a few ways:
- Annual audits
Each year we complete comprehensive audits on the contents of kerbside bins. A contractor is hired to look at multiple truck loads of waste, recycling and organics. The contents are inspected, sorted and weighed to determine what is going in each of our bins. - Kerbside audits
Our education team sometimes conduct random bin audits on-foot across Greater Bendigo. This involves lifting the lid of the bin, visually inspecting the contents and leaving a tag on the bin if it contained the wrong items.
If you notice a tag on your bin, please look at the item circled and which bin it belongs in. You may also receive a letter with more information.
- Drivers and cameras in trucks
Our trucks are fitted with cameras which enable us to see the contents of the bin as it is emptied. When a driver notices incorrect items in the bin, a photo of the contamination is sent to our education team and it is recorded in the City’s request system.
We will then send a letter advising incorrect items were placed in the bin with educational material enclosed to assist with sorting bins correctly.
If there is lots of contamination your bin might not be emptied. This avoids contaminating the other materials in the truck.
Organics
The organics bin is for food and garden organic material, and liners provided by the City of Greater Bendigo. Common mistakes in the organics bin include:
- Store-bought caddy liners
Only liners provided by the City go in the organics bin - Food in plastic
Please remove all packaging before placing food in the organics bin - Shiny or waxed paper and cardboard
such as magazines or cereal boxes. Only raw cardboard, like pizza boxes and toilet rolls, with no stickers or tape can go in the organics bin.
Recycling
The recycle bin is for paper, cardboard, hard plastic, metal and glass. See below for more information about the recycling bin, including how to tell the difference between hard and soft plastic, and the City’s glass recycling program.
Common mistakes in the recycling bin include:
- Plastic wrappers and bags
Including bagged recycling, items must be kept loose - Tetra Pak and UHT cartons
Long life milk cartons and juice boxes, these go in the general waste bin - Takeaway cups, including lids
All takeaway cups, including lids, go in the general waste bin - Clothing, fabric and textiles
- Electronic items and batteries
Banned from kerbside bins, must be taken to a drop off point
General Waste
The general waste bin is only for materials that cannot be recycled or composted. If something can go in the organics or recycling bin, it cannot go in the general waste bin.
There are some items that can’t go in any of your kerbside bins. These include:
- Gas cylinders
- Bricks, rubble and building waste
- Batteries, electronic items and e-waste
- Hazardous waste
- These must be taken to a drop off point or Recycling Centre
If you have received a letter or find a tag on your household bin, don’t be alarmed. The tag tells you what items have been put in the incorrect bin. If you have received a letter for a first or second instance of contamination, please refer to the information enclosed to ensure only accepted items are disposed of in each bin.
If you have received a letter for a third instance of contamination, your bin will not be emptied until you contact us. Once we have spoken with you about the contamination and resolved the issue, we can start emptying your bin again. If contamination is found again after the third instance, it will be referred to local laws. This may result in penalties so please contact us if you are confused.
If your bin was contaminated, it may not be emptied. After 3 instances of contamination, the bin will be left behind until you contact us. Sometimes if the contamination is severe we will not empty your bin, even if it was only the first or second time.
Please follow these steps to make sure your bin is emptied next time:
- Take the wrong items out of the bin
- Dispose of them the right way (into the correct bins or at a Recycling Centre)
- Contact us to let us know you have removed the contamination
Please note, we cannot return for contaminated bins until the next collection day.
Detailed information about our contamination procedure can be found in the Resource Recovery and Education Code of Practice below.
If you have received a letter about contamination and believe we have made a mistake, please contact us.
Sometimes it can be hard to tell which property a bin belongs to. Please make sure your bins are numbered to avoid receiving contamination letters about a bin that wasn’t yours.
We also understand that in addition to genuine mistakes, some bins are contaminated by passers-by, or from neighbours using other peoples’ bins without permission.
If you believe someone is using your bins without your permission, please contact us. It is against local law to use someone else’s bin without their permission in Bendigo.
Mobile bins remain property of the City of Greater Bendigo. While residents are responsible for the bins allocated to the property, the City reserves the right to inspect the bin at any time.