We've answered some of your most frequently asked questions about your recycling, your rubbish and how to bin it right.

What happens if there is something in a bin that can’t be recycled?

Contents of our recycling trucks are taken to a material recycling facility (MRF) and transferred to a conveyor belt where staff try to remove any obvious contaminates by hand; but this is not guaranteed. Contaminates like food in the paper stream or hazardous material may ruin the entire load.

Why can I not put batteries or butane gas in my bins?

Batteries, butane and other gas cylinders can start fires if compacted in rubbish trucks. They also contain hazardous materials so need to be taken to special recycling centres for correct disposal. Remember that batteries include button batteries up to car batteries and everything in between, such as vapes and embedded batteries in toys and tools.

Why do used pizza boxes go in the blue bin but any part with food scraps goes in the red bin?

Cardboard is highly recyclable, and used pizza boxes (can have some grease) can be processed into new paper products.

If any part of the box has food scraps stuck to it, separate this part and put it in the red bin.

Food particles contaminate the recycling stream, making it harder to process into clean recycled paper.

Why do coffee cups go in the red bin when they say they can be recycled?

Disposable coffee cups are difficult to recycle because of the range of different materials used. 

Generally, they are a compound of wood and paper materials lined with polymer waterproof linings and often they have plastic lids. This makes it difficult to sort or separate them for recycling in standard material recovery facilities where most council recycling material is sorted. As well as this, leftover liquid or food can contaminate the paper in the cup, making it unsuitable for recycling.

What happens if I put my recyclables in a plastic bag and into the yellow or blue bin?

Manual sorters at material recovery facilities (MRF) cannot check the contents of each full bag on a conveyor belt. Instead, they’ll remove unopened plastic bags, regardless of contents, and send it them to landfill. 

Please don't bag yellow or blue bin contents or they won't be recycled.

Why can’t I put food scraps in my green bin?

Your green bin can currently accept garden vegetation but not food scraps, as Northern Beaches Council don’t yet offer a food organics collection service. Food scraps in the green bin are considered as contamination and can mean the whole load being taken to landfill. 

If you wish to minimise your food waste, we offer regular waste reduction workshops, including a $90 voucher towards the purchase of a worm farm or compost bin.

Why can’t I put compostable packaging into my green bin?

Compostable packaging must be processed at an industrial composting facility, which is a different process to how your green bin contents are processed at Kimbriki.  Any packaging will mean that the load is wasted and heads to landfill. 

Green bin vegetation is processed for reuse in the horticulture and building industries and is in high demand.
 

Can I recycle from my bathroom?

Yes! Shampoo bottles, moisturiser containers, empty deodorant cans and toilet paper rolls and paper packaging can all be recycled. 

Containers from every room of your house - bedrooms, laundry and offices – can also be recycled. 

Consider using recycling bins to avoid the ick of separating bathroom waste or enter our competition to win a bathroom sorting bin.

How clean do my containers need to be for my yellow bin?

Where possible please clean your containers by rinsing jars and bottles, to remove any residual food. This helps to avoid the creation of leachate and is safer – and less unpleasant - for the workers who manually sort the recycling in the MRF. 

If you can’t remove all that peanut butter, it’s o - but we would appreciate if you can make your containers as clean as you can. Cleanish is ok.

Why can’t I put any kind of plastic in the yellow container bin even if it contains a recycling symbol?

A recycling symbol doesn't always mean the plastic can go in your yellow bin, but that the material is capable of being recycled in certain conditions, often at an industrial facility. Check out which plastics can go in your household yellow bin.

Plastics such as broken toys, laundry baskets, plastic containers and plastic bags do not go in your yellow bin. Instead these should be binned in your red bin, disposed of through a bulky good collection or at a Council drop off event.
 

Why is the information about what goes in our bins always changing?

Recycling rules can change between Council areas due to our differing recycling contracts which may utilise different recycling technologies. Changes in regulations and demand for recycled materials can also influence what waste can be recycled over periods of time.  

If you're unsure, stay up to date with Council's recycling guidelines and check with us if you are unsure.