Waste Collection FAQs

Our waste collection contractor empties your wheelie bin and transports it for burial at the Gatton Landfill. Our landfill is fully engineered and regularly monitored to ensure we meet the strict licence conditions set by the State Government Department of Environment and Science Innovation (DESI).

DESI regularly inspects our the Gatton Landfill facility to ensure compliance against our licence conditions.

General waste bin should be placed out for collection weekly and:

• Be a maximum of 1m from the kerbside
• Be placed approximately 1m apart
• Have handles facing your property and the opening facing the street
• Be out before 6am on day of collection
• Not be overfull or too heavy - lids must close fully and must not have any matter hanging out or protruding from the bin. The maximum bin weight for collection is 80kg.
• Be placed clear of cars, trees, low hanging power lines and all other obstacles
• Be removed from the kerbside within 24 hours of your serviced collection day.

The following items can be placed in your general waste bin:

• General household waste
• Soft plastics
• Styrofoam (may cause matter to get stuck in bin and not empty when tipped. Heavier matter should be placed underneath styrofoam to ensure if falls out)
• Plastic bags, plastic film and cling wrap
• Nappies
• Green waste - e.g. grass clippings (best if bagged to prevent the matter setting hard and obstructing the waste from falling out when tipped)
• Food scraps
• Ceramics and crockery
• Drinking glasses, window glass and other non-recyclable glass

Domestic green waste is free to dispose of at any of Council's Waste Facilties.

The following items should never go in your general (red) waste bin!

• Batteries of any description, including items with embeded batteries
• Hot ashes
• Building materials
• Large metal objects
• Liquids - paints, motor oil or solvents
• Medical waste - including loose needles and syringes
• Soil
• Rocks
• Concrete
• Gas bottles
• Chemicals and pesticides - see ChemClear website for disposal
• Asbestos

Car batteries, motor oil, untreated timber, uncontaminated soil and concrete are free to dispose of at most of Council's Waste Facilities.

For more information about saving space in your general waste bin:

• View the Waste and Recycling Handbook
• Contact Council's Waste Management Team on 1300 005 872.

Lockyer Valley Regional Council provides a dual bin waste and recycling service to your household.

This service is mandatory to all habitable residences deemed to be within a serviceable area. Find out what day your recycling bin is collected by using the What Bin Day App or simply enter your address into Council's Online Waste Map!

Knowing what items can go in your yellow lid bin will help make sure we’re recycling as much as we can and recycling correctly. Following the Do's and Don’ts below ensures a more sustainable future for us all by avoiding waste and maximising opportunities to reuse and recycle.

Items that can be placed in your yellow lid bin include:

• Paper, magazines, newspaper, junk mail, paper gift wrap (not foil looking wrap)
• Shredded paper - place it in a paper bag or a cereal box, don't put it in a plastic bag
• Cardboard, paper, egg cartons, greetings card, clean pizza boxes (not disposable/single-use coffee cups)
• Glass bottles and jars (clear, green or brown glass only)
• Steel cans and empty aerosols cans
• Aluminium cans
• Aluminium foil and foil trays - roll into a ball about the size of a tennis ball
• Clean plastic bottles and containers from your household only. No containers from the shed that have held petrol, chemicals or oil. You can take these to your nearest waste facility
• Cartons - such as tetra packs and milk/cream and juice cartons
• Remove metal lids from glass bottles and jars. Place them in a container of the same material (steel into a can or aluminium into a drink can) or throw them into the general waste bin.

Alternatively, use the guide on the lid of your yellow recycle bin or visit Recycle Mate for reference.

The below is a list of some of the things that we find in recycle bins and shouldn't.

• Soft plastics such as plastic bags, bin liners, plastic wrap and bubble wrap
• Food and, kitchen scraps
• Lawn clippings and tree cuttings
• Empty containers from your shed or garage that have held chemicals or petrol
• Brooms and mops
• Plastic furniture or hoses
• Crockery or china, pyrex and ovenproof dishes
• Blue and white glass
• Drinking glasses and ceramic mugs
• Disposable/single-use coffee cups - put the cup in your general waste bin and the plastic lid in your recycle bin
• Mirrors, fish tanks and safety glass
• Light bulbs and fluorescent lamps
• Window or automotive glass
• Nappies - disposable and cloth
• Moist towels, tissues, serviettes, toilet paper and paper towels
• Foil gift wrapping and ribbon
• Polystyrene foam and packing (including food packaging trays similar to trays meat is sold in at the supermarket - even if it has a #6 on it)
• Clothes or fabric (contact your local charity organisation)
• Syringes, sharps containers or medical waste
• Batteries - all types
• E-Waste (computers, printers, TVs, microwaves etc.)
• Building/renovation waste - e.g. PVC pipe, fixtures, fittings, plasterboard
• Bricks, concrete, masonry, tiles, rocks, etc.

The above list are all contaminants to the recycling process. If you put these in your bin, your bin may not be emptied. You will need to remove these contaminants before your bin can be emptied, and may be charged a fee to collect your bin.

Many of these items can be disposed of at your nearest waste facility.