Public litter bins
On this page:
Council provides hundreds of litter bins in convenient public spaces for the community to use and empties the bins regularly to prevent litter on our streets.
Where we put public litter bins
Council locates public litter bins in high demand areas like shopping strips, bus stops and at the entrances to parks and reserves.
Where you won’t find a public bin
Council won’t locate public bins on residential streets. When public bins are placed in residential streets, the bins often fill quickly with garbage bags of household waste from people’s homes making the bins unavailable for people wanting to dispose of litter.
Council won’t locate public litter bins in the centre of parks and reserves, this is the encourage visitors to our parks to take their litter with them and dispose of it on their way out. You’ll find bins at the entrances/exits to parks instead.
Solar compaction bins
In some spaces you might see our solar compaction bins. These bins use the sun’s energy to power an internal compaction mechanism that squashes the waste inside, compacting it. Compaction bins allow the bins to hold more waste and therefore needs emptying less often, saving unnecessary road travel and more greenhouse gases.
When we collect bins
All the public litter bins in Merri-bek are collected regularly with every bin collected at least once per week. Many bins are emptied more than once per week and bins in some high traffic areas are emptied every day.
Dirty or damaged bins
It's not uncommon for a public litter bin to become dirty or smelly over time given the job they do. Don’t worry though, our team visit all of Merri-bek’s bins each week and have a program for gradually repairing, replacing and smartening up the bins that are past their best.
Bin wraps
We also use bin wraps to protect our bins from damage and wear and extend the bins useful life. Bin wraps are designed to be colourful which helps to prevent graffiti on the bins which can be a common target for graffiti vandalism.
They are intended to bring colour and vibrancy to our streets and improve the aesthetic of where we live.
Report an overflowing public litter bin
Let us know if there is a public litter bin that is overflowing and we’ll empty it.
To let us know of a damaged litter bin or request more bins in a location, please give us a call 9240 1111