How to put bins and sacks out for collection

This page explains how to present your bins, sacks and food caddies for collection. Follow these guidelines to avoid some of the common issues that can lead to a missed collection.

The right day and time

• All bins and sacks must be out before 7am on collection day but no sooner than 6pm the night before.
• Check your collection dates (and sign up to email reminders)
• Download the Recycling and Waste Collection Guide and Zone calendars  

The right address

Put your bins and sacks outside the correct address, even if your property shares a boundary with another street (as it could have a different collection schedule).

If you have garden waste collections, we'll only collect from the address you signed up with.

The right bin

We won't collect contaminated bins and sacks. Before you put these out, check for any items that don't belong. Learn more at What goes in each bin or sack.

We only collect our approved bins and sacks. Learn more at Request bins, sacks and caddies.

Don't put out too much waste

If you use wheelie bins:

• all bin lids must be closed and contents must be loose (so we can empty and inspect easily)
• for recyling - if your blue bin is full, put extra recycling in a clear bag on the bin lid or at the side of the bin
• for rubbish - if your green bin is full, don't put out any extra rubbish as we won't collect it

If you use sacks:

• for recycling - use as many clear recycling sacks as you need
• for rubbish - we won't collect more than 3 lilac sacks
• for garden waste - if you're signed up for garden waste collections, use as many of our compostable sacks as you need

See What to do with extra rubbish.

Don't block the pavement

Bins and sacks can obstruct others, especially wheelchair users and people with pushchairs:

• if your road is particularly narrow, place your bin as close as possible to the boundary of your property.
• remember to remove your empty bins from the pavement as soon as possible after collection

Make sure our crews can access your bins and sacks

Unless you have assisted collections, our crews do not:

• walk onto your property
• move any obstacles
• open gates

You must put your bins and sacks at the edge of your property so they're clearly visible to the collection crews. 

Incorrect bin presentation example

This image shows a blue bin and green bin that are not presented correctly for collection. They are positioned at the far end of a property.

These bins will not be collected because our crews would need to walk onto the property to collect them. This issue will be logged on the live reporting system and we will not return until your next collection day.

Correct bin presentation examples

This image shows a blue recycling bin and food caddy presented correctly. It is positioned outside the property and up close to the border.

Our collection crews can easily access both bins and they cause minimal obstruction to other users.

This image shows a blue recycling bin presented correctly. It is positioned at the entrance to a property.

Our collection crews can easily access this bin without walking onto the property.

This image shows a green rubbish bin presented correctly. It is positioned just to the side of the property entrance and there's no obstruction or gate to open.

Our collection crews can easily access this bin without walking onto the property.