General waste


On this page:

General waste that can’t be reused, recycled or composted is sometimes referred to as ‘rubbish’, ‘garbage’ or ‘landfill’. General waste should be placed in your red-lidded or dark green-lidded household bin. Never place hazardous items such as batteries in your household bins.

Single residential households have a 140-litre general waste bin. General waste bins in apartments and townhouses with shared waste disposal may vary in size.

You can also drop off general waste to a resource management centre (sometimes called ‘the tip’) for a fee.

General waste bin collection

Visit the bins page to find your collection day and information about your household bins.

If your general waste bin is full, you can:

Items

Suitable items

The general waste bin is for household waste that can’t be reused or put into your recycling or green garden waste bin. This includes:

Unsuitable items

Please do not put the following items in your general waste bin:

These items should be taken elsewhere for recycling or safe disposal. Visit the A-Z guide to recycling and waste to find out more.

Reduce your general waste to landfill

General waste is taken to the landfill where materials cannot be recovered or reused. Some items take a long time to break down in landfill and cause harmful greenhouse gases.

You can reduce the amount of waste you send to landfill by choosing to:

  • avoid single use products and packaging
  • reduce food waste, and
  • repair, reuse or recycle materials.

Check the A-Z guide to recycling and waste to find out how to dispose of specific items.

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.