Green garden waste


West Belconnen Green Waste Facility

West Belconnen Green Waste Facility has been relocated 1km down Parkwood Road. Signs will guide visitors to the new entrance.

On this page:

Garden waste

Garden waste, also called green waste or garden organics, includes items from your garden such as leaves, grass clippings, garden prunings, small branches and weeds.

You can place garden waste in your home compost or green garden waste bin. You can also take garden waste to the Mugga Lane Resource Management Centre or hire a trash pak or skip.

Do not place garden waste in your recycling or general waste bin. It can create harmful greenhouse gas methane in landfill. Dispose of it correctly so that it can be made into compost and mulch products.

Green garden waste bin collection

The ACT Government provides a fortnightly green garden waste bin collection service.

Green garden waste bins are optional and for a fee*. The bin is registered to the address and must remain at the property if you move. Please make sure your bin weighs less than 50 kg so the truck can lift it.

See the bins page for more information including collection dates.

Order a green garden waste bin

  1. Ordering your first bin

You can order your first green garden waste bin for a one-off registration fee.

You do not have to pay the one-off registration fee for your first green garden waste bin if you hold at least one of the following concession cards:

  • ACTION Gold Card
  • Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold Card
  • Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card
  • ACT Seniors Card.
  1. Ordering your second or additional green bin

Second or additional green garden waste bins are available for a one-off registration fee and an annual service fee.

You do not have to pay the one-off registration fee for your second or additional green garden waste bin if you hold at least one of the following concession cards:

  • ACTION Gold Card
  • Department of Veterans' Affairs Gold Card
  • Centrelink Pensioner Concession Card
  • ACT Seniors Card.

The annual service fee will apply for concession card holders.

Order a green garden waste bin

Green bins for multi-unit developments

If you live in an apartment or townhouse with shared waste facilities, ask your building management to apply for you.

Order a green garden waste bin - strata

Exemption

Households in the ACT’s Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) pilot areas are not eligible for an additional green waste bin. These areas receive weekly FOGO bin collections.

What goes in your green garden waste bin

The green garden waste bin is for organic garden waste. This includes:

  • grass clippings
  • weeds
  • garden prunings
  • leaves
  • flowers and
  • small branches no longer than 45 cm and with a diameter less than 10 cm.

Do not put compostable bags, plastic bags, building waste, animal waste, manure, soil, or treated timber in your green garden waste bin. Read our garden waste brochure (PDF 11.4 MB) to find out what goes in your bin. View the education resources page for green waste bin guides in English and other languages.

Unless you are part of the FOGO pilot, do not put food waste in your green garden waste bin. See the A-Z guide to recycling and waste for food waste disposal options.

Drop off garden waste

You can drop off your residential garden waste at the following locations:

Trash pak and skip hire

The following trash pak and skip bin services collect garden waste (fees apply):

FOGO pilot program

Some Canberra suburbs are part of a food organics and garden organics (FOGO) pilot program. Participants in Belconnen, Bruce, Cook and Macquarie, and some apartments and townhouses in Tuggeranong, can place food scraps along with garden waste in their FOGO bin (which looks the same as a green garden waste bin). For more information see FOGO.

Video

Watch the video to find out more about green garden waste bins.

Related links

Forms

Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.

To see how we are building stronger relationships with the Traditional Custodians of the ACT view the Reconciliation Action Plan.