• What is the 4-bin waste service?

• Our standard 4-bin waste service includes:

  • 120 litre food and garden organics bin (light green lid)
  • 80 litre general rubbish bin (red or dark green lid)
  • 240 litre mixed recycling bin (yellow lid)
  • and a 120 litre glass recycling bin (purple lid).
• How often are my bins be picked up?
• • Food and garden organics bins are collected weekly
  • General rubbish bins are collected weekly
  • Mixed recycling bins are collected every 2 weeks
  • Glass recycling bins are collected every 4 weeks
• Can I change the size of my bins?

• Yes, if the standard service does not work for your household, you can request to change the size of your bin.

  This will affect your waste charge. Smaller bins cost less and larger bins cost more.

  The available bin sizes for each waste stream are:

  • General rubbish 80L, 120L or 240L
  • Food and garden organics 120L or 240L
  • Mixed recycling 120L, 240L or 360L (1x240L + 1x120L bin)
  • Glass recycling 120L or 240L (2x120L bins).
• Why do we have 4 bins?

• 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.
  

  Recycling well and reducing waste helps keep valuable resources out of landfill so that they can be used again and again.
  

  Recycling reduces the need for new or raw materials and is part of Victoria’s shift to a circular economy.

  By separating your waste into 4 bins, more of your recycling can be turned into new things, like glass jars, mulch and compost.

• Why do we need a glass recycling bin?

• Broken glass makes other items like cardboard, paper and plastic hard to recycle.

  By putting your glass bottles and jars in a separate bin more glass can be recycled into new things like jars and bottles. It also reduces contamination in your mixed recycling bin, making sure that paper, card and plastics can be recovered effectively, improving the quality and value of these materials to be turned into new products.

  Glass does not degrade through the recycling process, so it can be recycled again and again.

• Lids on or lids off?

• Lids on!

  Our recycling processor, Visy, prefers lids of bottles and jars (both glass and plastic) to be attached before placing in the recycling bin. They are removed through the recycling process and sent to the right waste stream for further processing. Loose lids should be placed in your general rubbish bin as these get lost in the recycling process. You can read more household recycling tips on the Visy website here: www.visy.com.au/recycling/household-recycling-tips.

• I don’t have much glass recycling. Do I need to have the glass recycling bin?

• In line with State Government policy, the 4-bin waste service is now the standard service for households in Merri-bek. There isn’t an option to opt-out of having a glass recycling bin, just like you couldn't opt-out of having a mixed recycling or general rubbish bin in the past. You cannot opt-out of using the glass recycling service because glass is no longer accepted in the yellow-lidded mixed recycling bin.

• Why do we need a food and garden organics bin?

• Food thrown into your general rubbish bin ends up in landfill. Food in landfill creates greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. In Merri-bek over 40% of household waste that goes to landfill is wasted food.

  By putting your food waste in the food and garden organics bin, we can almost halve the amount of waste sent to landfill in Merri-bek. Putting your food scraps and garden clippings into your new bin means less goes to landfill. This means your food scraps can be turned into mulch and compost instead of going to landfill.

  Working together, the 4-bin service can help us get closer to our goals of zero waste to landfill and zero carbon emissions.

• I compost at home. Can I choose not to have a food and garden organics bin?

• In line with State Government policy, the 4-bin waste service is now the standard service for households in Merri-bek. There isn't currently an option to opt-out of having a food and garden organics bin, just like you couldn't opt-out of having a mixed recycling bin or general rubbish in the past.

  We encourage you to keep composting or worm farming your food waste at home. The food and garden organics bin can work alongside your home compost or worm farm.

  Food and garden waste that can cause problems in a home compost system – such as meat, seafood, dairy, citrus, onions, processed carbohydrates and garden weeds – can be placed in the food and garden organics bin. The food and garden organics bin can also be used for food and garden waste when your compost, Bokashi bin or worm farm is resting or at capacity.

• What is the waste levy and why do we pay it?

• The waste levy is set by the State Government and charges per tonne of waste sent to landfill. It increases annually which means the cost of delivering our waste service will increase, regardless of any changes.

  The 4-bin service will help to manage these costs because it diverts the most waste from landfill. The more we can divert from landfill the lower the cost impact of the waste levy will be.

  It costs more to send food waste to landfill than it does to turn it into compost. The more food waste our community puts in food and garden organics bins instead of general rubbish bins, the less waste levy ratepayers will need to pay.

People living in units, townhouses and apartments

• Can we change the number and size of our bins?

• If you would like to review how many shared bins you have at your development, your Owners Corporation, or alternative representative, may request a review. Please email us at waste@merri-bek.vic.gov.au with your request. We will organise a site visit to review your development’s waste needs.

  If you want to change the size of one of your own individual bins, and not a shared bin, you can do this online: merri-bek.vic.gov.au/bins. This will affect your waste charge. Smaller bins cost less and larger bins cost more.

• Where do we store shared bins?

• Shared bins are stored in a central area where all residents can use them. They are clearly signed.

• Do we pay less for using shared bins?

• Yes, where shared bins are used, a lower waste charge applies.