Recycling
Inner West Council provides a fortnightly kerbside collection service for recyclable waste. You may have different bins for recycling depending on your suburb.
What goes in my recycling bins?
Bottles, containers and cans
- Glass bottles and jars
- Steel and aluminium cans as well as aluminium foil (scrunched up into a fist-size ball)
- Plastic bottles and containers, including empty plastic takeaway containers
Clean paper and cardboard
- Newspaper, cardboard and paper
- Milk and juice cartons
- Pizza boxes (no food scraps)
Unsure if an item is recyclable? Find an answer in our A-Z guide or send your question to rethinkwaste@innerwest.nsw.gov.au.
What does not go in my recycling bins?
- Plastic bags and other soft plastics
- Polystyrene foam
- Nappies, used or unused
- CDs, DVDs and VCR tapes
- Flower pots, including plastic ones
- Photographs
- Clothing
- Mixed foil and plastic packaging, such as pringles containers
- Ceramics, porcelain and broken glass
- Light globes
- Syringes and sharps
- Medicines
- Green waste
- Mobile phones and electronic or computer parts
- Plastic toys and kitchen storage containers
If any of the above items are placed in your recycling bin your bin might be rejected.
Recycling tips
- Always put your items loose in the bin
- Never put plastic bags – including biodegradable ones – in your yellow or blue bin, as they jam the machinery used to sort through the recycling materials
- Ensure items have no leftover foods inside before placing them in the bin
- Flatten cardboard boxes before they go in the recycling bin.
Need an additional recycling bin?
You may apply for an additional recycling bin at no extra cost to maximise your recycling efforts.
Apply for an additional recycling bin
Need additional help or have questions?
To help our residents recycle and dispose of waste correctly, we offer a range of educational material, such as bin bay signs, bin stickers, educational flyers or property number bin stickers.
Order signs, stickers or flyers
Recycling in your suburb
You may have additional paper and food recycling bins depending on your suburb.
Inner West Council – Ashfield
- Houses are provided with a 240 litre yellow-lidded bin collected fortnightly.
- Units are provided with shared or communal 240 litre yellow-lidded bins collected fortnightly.
When is collection day?
The collection day depends on your address. Find your collection day
Important collection information
- Ensure that bins are out the night before and are returned to your property within 12 hours of collection.
- Bins left on the road or footpath can go missing during collection day and pose a risk for pedestrians and disrupt traffic. Be a good neighbour and bring your bins in.
- Do not overfill your bin, as this can result in litter being blown out. Make sure that the bin lid can be shut. Overflowing bins will not be collected.
Inner West Council – Leichhardt
Households are provided with separate bins for recycling:
- A yellow-lidded bin for containers
- A blue-lidded bin for clean paper and cardboard
- A burgundy-lidded bin for food waste (only for units that share bins)
When is collection day?
The collection day depends on your address. Find your collection day
Food waste information
Find out about Council's food waste recycling collection service.
Important collection information
- Ensure that bins are out by 4.30pm and are returned to your property within 12 hours of collection.
- Bins left on the road or footpath can go missing during collection day and pose a risk for pedestrians and disrupt traffic. Be a good neighbour and bring your bins in.
- Do not overfill your bin, as this can result in litter being blown out. Make sure that the bin lid can be shut. Overflowing bins will not be collected.
Inner West Council – Marrickville
- Houses are provided with a 240 litre yellow-lidded bin collected fortnightly.
- Units are provided with shared or communal 240 litre yellow-lidded bins collected fortnightly.
When is collection day?
The collection day depends on your address. Find your collection day
Important collection information
- Ensure that bins are out the night before and are returned to your property within 12 hours of collection.
- Bins left on the road or footpath can go missing during collection day and pose a risk for pedestrians and disrupt traffic. Be a good neighbour and bring your bins in.
- Do not overfill your bin, as this can result in litter being blown out. Make sure that the bin lid can be shut. Overflowing bins will not be collected.