What can go in your bin?

Swan Hill Rural City Council provides a kerbside bin collection service for all properties within the declared waste collection areas of our municipality with a habitable residence.

The standard service includes:

  • Red landfill bin - collected weekly (120 litre or 240 litre)
  • Yellow recycling bin - collected fortnightly (240 litre)

Optional service for Swan Hill township only:

  • Green garden waste bin - collected fortnightly (240 litre)


Watch this video about changes in recycling in other languages:
Arabic | Cantonese | Dari | Greek | Hindi | Italian | Khmer | Mandarin | Punjabi | Vietnamese

Red landfill bin (red lid)

Red landfill bin Our landfill bins have a red lid. They are collected weekly and go to landfill.

What CAN go in your red bin

  • General rubbish
  • Soft plastics (e.g. plastic bags, food packages)
  • Nappies
  • Food scraps
  • Polystyrene
  • Broken crockery
  • Old textiles

What CANNOT go in your red bin

  • NO batteries
  • NO building materials e.g. bricks, timber, asbestos
  • NO liquids e.g. paint, oils
  • NO Bulky items
  • NO toxic chemicals
  • NO hot ash
  • NO E-waste
  • NO sharps and syringes (syringe safety)
  • NO gas cylinders
  • NO medical waste

Other options for household waste

Printable brochure - What can go in your red landfill bin?(PDF, 2MB)

Yellow recycling bin (yellow lid)

Yellow recycling bin Our recycling bins have a yellow lid. They are collected fortnightly and go to a recycling centre.

Did you know that recyclables must be placed LOOSE inside your bin, not bagged? For safety reasons, bags of recyclables will not be opened at the recycling facility and will instead be sent to landfill. Watch the video below to find out more.

What CAN go in your yellow bin

  • Plastic bottles and containers
  • Paper and cardboard
  • Aluminium cans and tins, including empty aerosols
  • Aluminium foil and trays
  • Glass bottles and jars ** New separate glass service coming soon!

What CANNOT go in your yellow bin

  • NO glassware, broken mirrors
  • NO e-waste
  • NO bags of recyclables
  • NO general rubbish
  • NO broken crockery
  • NO plastic bags
  • NO batteries
  • NO food scraps
  • NO textiles
  • NO green waste
  • NO sharps, syringes (syringe safety)
  • NO hose, irrigation or sprinkler
  • NO nappies
  • NO hot ash
  • NO building material, timber, bricks, asbestos
  • NO medical supplies

Other options for household waste

Printable brochure - What can go in your yellow recycling bin?(PDF, 1MB)


Watch this video about recycling loose in other languages:
Arabic | Cantonese | Dari | Greek | Hindi | Italian | Khmer | Mandarin | Punjabi | Vietnamese

Green garden waste (green lid)

Green garden waste bin Our garden waste bins have a green lid. They are collected fortnightly and go to landfill to be mulched.

Green bins are an optional service and are only available in the Swan Hill township. 

What CAN go in your green bin

  • Grass clippings
  • Garden prunings
  • Weeds Flowers
  • Small branches (up to 75mm diameter)
  • Leaves

What CANNOT go in your green bin

  • NO general rubbish
  • NO garden hose, irrigation or sprinklers
  • NO building materials e.g. bricks, timber
  • NO soil
  • NO garden pots
  • NO toxic chemicals
  • NO hot ash
  • NO food scraps ** New FOGO service coming soon!

Other options for household waste

Printable brochure - What can go in your green garden waste bin?(PDF, 2MB)

How to put your bins out

  • Place your bins out the night before collection - please note changes to collection times and schedules may occur without notice.
  • Bins must be returned to the property as soon as practicable on the day of collection after their contents have been collected.
  • Bins should be presented for collection with handles facing towards the property, be spaced half a metre apart and where possible be located away from trees, power poles, cars or other obstructions.
  • Do not compact waste in your bin - the bin may not empty fully when collected.
  • Do not overfill your bin, a maximum weight restriction of 75kgs applies - if you cannot easily manoeuvre your bin one handed it may be too heavy for the garbage truck to lift and possibly not be emptied.
  • Bin lids must be closed fully for collection, extra waste placed outside of the bin will not be collected.

If your bin is overfull, overweight or contaminated, our collection contractor will sticker or tag your bin to identify the problem, please call Council on 03 5036 2333 for assistance.

Printable brochure - What can go in your bin?(PDF, 5MB)