Residential – individually owned bins

This page details the waste and recycling design requirements for residential development where bins are assigned to and managed by each individual dwelling, such as attached dwellings, dual occupancies, dwelling houses, secondary dwellings, and semi-detached dwellings.

Section 496 of the Local Government Act 1993 requires council to make and levy an annual charge for the provision of domestic waste management services for each parcel of rateable land for which the service is available. In Inner West, this means that all residential development must be designed and built to enable waste to be collected by Council or Council’s contractors.

This page details the waste and recycling design requirements for residential development where bins are assigned to and managed by each individual dwelling, such as attached dwellings, dual occupancies, dwelling houses, secondary dwellings, and semi-detached dwellings.

Section 496 of the Local Government Act 1993 requires council to make and levy an annual charge for the provision of domestic waste management services for each parcel of rateable land for which the service is available. In Inner West, this means that all residential development must be designed and built to enable waste to be collected by Council or Council’s contractors.

Every rateable residence in the Inner West is supplied with a waste and recycling service. At present, householders can, and should, separate recyclable items, food organics and garbage into three different streams.

Bin capacity – individually owned bins

The standard domestic waste management service includes:

• a 120 litre red lid garbage bin
• a 240 litre green lid food and garden organics (FOGO) bin
• a 240 litre yellow lid recycling bin
• access to booked household clean-up and community recycling centres

There may be an option for a smaller or larger service, based on your household type and waste needs. View Council's domestic waste management charges here.

Bin collection frequency – individually owned bins

The red and yellow lid bin are collected fortnightly, whilst the green lid bin is collected weekly.

Dimension requirements for a bin storage area (BSA) and bins – individually owned bins

Bin storage areas are to be designed to accommodate the footprint of each bin plus a manoeuvrability buffer around each bin to allow for the ease of movement. The manoeuvrability buffer area is 50% of the bin footprint, as detailed below.

For example, a 240L bin has a footprint of 0.43sqm, the manoeuvrability buffer area is 50% is 0.22sqm, therefore the bin storage area is to accommodate 0.65sqm for a 240L bin.

Please consider that Council has the right to change the size or number of bins provided based on servicing requirements. Sufficient space should be considered for future changes.

Bin storage areas – inside each dwelling

A dwelling must be provided with enough space to separate and store bins for garbage, recycling, and food organics, this includes:

• Garbage and recycling bins with a capacity to store garbage and recycling generated over a two-day period, this is approximately 20L for each bin type.
• A 7L FOGO (food and gardens organics) kitchen caddy bin to store food  scraps 

The location of each bin type within the dwelling could be nominated on the floor, on the kitchen counter, within a cupboard, or a drawer.

Location requirements for a bin storage area (BSA) – individually owned bins

The location of the bin storage area (BSA) must be identified in the submitted architectural plans for any development application. The location of the BSA needs to be suitably positioned to minimise impacts to the residents, neighbouring properties, and the streetscape. It must be:

• able to store all waste and recycling generated between collection cycles based on the estimated waste generation rates and bin types
• of a suitable size to accommodate the total bin footprint including manoeuvrability buffer
• located wholly within the property boundaries
• located away from windows of habitable rooms both on the property and on neighbouring properties 

The BSA:

• can be suitably located within a garage or carport if it can be demonstrated that it does not hinder access, loading or unloading from this space.
• may be screened where it can be sensitively integrated within the site and streetscape

Examples of BSA screening and enclosures:

Route of transfer for bins - individually owned bins

The route of transfer is the route the resident will take the bins from the BSA to the collection point and should be shown in a diagram in your submitted waste management plan. The route of transfer must:

• Be at least 1.2m wide
• Have a maximum gradient of 1:14
• Be free of steps
• Not pass through any internal areas of the dwelling

The following additional design measures can be incorporated into the design to allow for the ease of transfer of bins from the BSA to the collection point:

• Sensor lighting or illuminated pathways
• Pathways constructed of solid and non-slip surfaces
  
  

Collection point - individually owned bins

Generally, the collection point for waste and recycling by Council will be along the property boundary, usually at the kerb in front of the dwelling. Alternative collection points may be available depending on the site, for example where rear lane access is available for Council’s waste service vehicles the collection point may be at the laneway. Council holds the right to choose the collection point for each property, based on our collection routes, and truck access. To identify the location of the collection point for the property, contact Council’s waste team.