The way we use our bins will be changing

The number of bins you have and the size of your bins are changing.

From July 2023 the way you sort your waste and how often your bins are picked up will also change. You will need to sort your waste into 4 bins:

• glass recycling (purple lid) to be collected monthly/every 4 weeks
• mixed recycling (yellow lid) to be collected fortnightly/every 2 weeks
• food and garden organics (light green lid) to be collected weekly
• and general rubbish (red lid) to be collected weekly.

Why are our bins changing?

The Victorian Government is standardising household waste and recycling services across the state. All Victorian council kerbside services will move to a 4-bin system. The new system will improve recycling and reduce waste going to landfill.

New bin deliveries

When will our new bins arrive?

Your new bins will arrive in stages between March and June 2023.

• Your larger 240 litre mixed recycling bin will arrive between March and April 2023.
• Your new 120 litre glass recycling bin will arrive between April and June 2023.
• Households without a food and garden organics bin will receive a new bin in June 2023. You will also receive a new kitchen caddy to collect your food scraps in.

What do I do with my new bins until the new collections start?

Mixed recycling

• Start using your larger mixed recycling bin immediately for plastic bottles and containers, glass bottles and jars, paper, cardboard, aluminium and steel cans, tins and foil. This bin will continue to be picked up weekly until the end of June 2023.
• Your old 120 litre recycling bin will be picked up and recycled. Please leave your empty 120 litre mixed recycling bin out on the kerb upside down for removal.
• From July 2023, your mixed recycling bin will be picked up fortnightly and glass bottles and jars will no longer go in this bin.
• If you already have a 240 litre mixed recycling bin, there will be no change to your bin.

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our Recycling bins page.

Glass recycling

• Your new glass recycling bin will arrive in May.
• Take the bin onto your property for safe storage.
• Please do not put your glass recycling bin out on the kerbs until collections begin in July 2023. You can start collecting your glass bottles and jars in this bin when it arrives.
• From July 2023, your glass recycling bin will be picked up monthly and glass bottles and jars will be collected in this bin.
• Some residents will need to take their glass bottles and jars to a glass recycling drop-off point. This will mostly affect residents in units and apartment blocks. We have been in touch by mail if this affects you.
• Lids should be firmly attached.

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our Glass recycling bins page.

Food and garden organics

• You can start using your food and garden organics bin immediately for food scraps and garden waste. This bin will be picked up fortnightly until the end of June 2023.
• If you already have a food and garden organics bin, there will be no change to your bin. If you don’t have a kitchen caddy to collect your food scraps in, you can pick one up from one of our Customer Service Centres. Stocks are limited.
• From July 2023, your food and garden organics bin will be picked up weekly.

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our Food and garden organics bin page.

General rubbish

• There will be no change to the size of your general rubbish bin or how often it is picked up.
• From July 2023 food scraps no longer go in your general rubbish bin.

For more information on how to use this bin correctly, visit our General rubbish bins page.

Standard service bin sizes

The available bin sizes for each waste stream in the 4-bin service will be:

• General rubbish: 80 litres (standard), 120 litres or 240 litres
• Mixed recycling: 120 litres, 240 litres (standard) or 360 litres
• Glass recycling: 120 litres (standard) or 240 litres (2 x 120 litre bins)
• Food and garden organics: 120 litres (standard) or 240 litres

Can I change the size of my bins?

From August 2023, you can change the size of your bin if the standard bin size is not suitable for your household. There will be no changeover fee, but your waste charge will change. Smaller bins cost less and larger bins cost more.

Braille labels for bins

Braille labels for all 4 bins are available at no cost. Residents can collect labels from any Merri-bek City Council office or call customer service on 9240 111 and we will mail them to you.

Waste charge 

Will these changes make my waste charge go up?

The waste charge will be affected by the service changes being rolled out.

There will be an increase in the waste charge paid by ratepayers to cover the costs of the new glass recycling service, expanded food and garden organics service, and the increasing landfill levy.

We know that keeping costs low is important to the community, so we will be working hard to manage the impact of the increase on ratepayers, keeping costs as low as possible.

We have secured State Government funding to put towards the cost of rolling out the 4-bin service.

Waste charge calculation

The waste charge will look different on the 2023/2024 Rates Notice.

The current waste charge is calculated based on the size of the garbage bin being used. From 1 July 2023, we are no longer charging based on the size of your general rubbish bin. 

On your rates notice, each bin will be listed with a separate charge depending on the size of the bin. The charge for each bin will make up your overall waste charge. Larger bins will cost more, smaller bins will cost less.

The waste charge also covers 2 hard waste collections per household or business each year.

Waste charges for 2023 / 2024

The waste charge is determined as part of the annual budget cycle, which is adopted by Council on 30 June each year.

It is too early to know how much the waste charge will be for the 2023/24 financial year, when the 4-bin service commences.

The draft budget is being presented to Council in April and will be out for public feedback from 19 April – 19 May. We will send more information on the waste charge to ratepayers in April/May 2023.

More information on our new 4-bin service

For more information on how the new 4-bin service will affect your household, please visit our new 4-bin service page on Conversations Merri-bek.

We understand that not all households have space to store 4 bins. That's why we are providing a slightly different service to people living in units, townhouses and apartments.

Get ready for the new 4-bin service by thinking about how you can reduce your waste and checking that you are sorting your waste correctly now.