How to find your bin collection day in Australia

Why finding your bin day is harder than it should be

In Australia, kerbside waste collection is run by your local council, not by a national service. There are 537 local councils across the country, each with its own collection schedule, its own bin colours (mostly standardised, sometimes not), and its own way of telling residents when to put bins out.

The good news is that most councils publish their schedules online. The bad news is that they publish them in different places and different formats. Some councils have a slick address-lookup tool. Some bury the information three clicks deep under "Waste & Recycling". A handful only publish a PDF calendar that you have to download and read.

If you've just moved house, or you're checking on behalf of an elderly parent, the easiest approach is to use a single tool that knows where to look for each council. That's what Bin Night Tonight does.

The fastest way: use a unified lookup

Enter your street address on the Bin Night Tonight home page. We'll figure out which council covers your address, query that council's own waste system, and show you the next four weeks of collections.

This works for the 180 councils we currently support. If your council isn't yet in our coverage, you can use one of the manual methods below or request your council via the contact page.

The manual way: go through your council's website

1. Find your council. Search "[your suburb] council" in any search engine. The first result is usually right. If you're in a rural area, your council may cover a region larger than your nearest town.
2. Look for "Waste", "Bins", or "Rubbish". Almost every council has a top-level section by one of those names. If you can't find it on the main nav, try the site search.
3. Look for a lookup tool. Many councils have a "When is my bin day?" form where you enter your address. Use it if available; it's the most accurate source.
4. If there's only a calendar, find your zone. Some councils publish a PDF calendar split into zones (A, B, C, etc). The same page usually has a zone-lookup tool to tell you which zone your address belongs to.

The whole process usually takes five to ten minutes the first time, then much less once you know where to look.

What to do if you've just moved

Moving into a new place is the most common reason to suddenly need this information. A few practical tips:

• Ask the previous occupants or your neighbours. The fastest source is someone who has been doing it for years. If the bins are already at the property, take a photo of the lid colours to confirm which bins you have.
• Confirm with the council. Different streets in the same suburb can have different days. Verify by entering the new address into a lookup, not by assuming it matches the suburb.
• Check the cycle, not just the day. Most councils alternate recycling and garden organics fortnightly. Knowing it's "Wednesday" isn't enough; you also need to know whether tonight is yellow week or green week.
• Set a reminder. Calendar export from Bin Night Tonight gives you a recurring event for each collection, which is the most reliable way to stop forgetting after the first month.

If your new property is in a brand-new estate, the council may not have updated its records yet. In that case, the developer's settlement pack often includes a temporary schedule.

Knowing the bin colours

The Australian Standard bin lid colour code is fairly consistent across councils:

• Red lid: general waste, usually collected weekly.
• Yellow lid: mixed recycling (paper, cardboard, glass, cans, hard plastics), usually fortnightly.
• Dark green lid: garden organics, usually fortnightly.
• Lime green lid: combined Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO), in councils that offer it.
• Purple lid: glass only, in councils that separate it.

For a more detailed breakdown of what goes in each, see the recycling guide and the FOGO and glass guide.

Common questions

What time should I put my bin out?

Most councils require bins to be at the kerb by 6am on collection day. You can put them out the night before, just keep them clear of driveways and parked cars so the truck's mechanical arm can reach them.

What if I miss bin night?

For general waste you'll usually be waiting a week (or two if your council collects fortnightly). Some councils accept missed-collection requests via their website; check yours within 24 hours of the missed pickup.

Do public holidays change my collection day?

In most councils, a public holiday shifts the affected collection forward by one day for the rest of the week. Christmas, New Year and Easter cause the longest delays. Your council's website always posts a holiday-collection notice in the week before.