Changes to the yellow-lidded bin

3min read

For most councils in the Perth Metropolitan Area, there have been changes regarding what can and can’t be recycled in your yellow-topped bin. These changes are part of an effort to try and reduce contamination and make recycling easier for everyone to understand.

By having a clear and consistent range of recycling items, it not only makes it easier to understand which bin to put it in, but in the long term will lead to better outcomes for recycling in Western Australia.

What are the major changes?

Aerosols can no longer be placed in the yellow-lidded bin.

While Aerosol cans are made from recyclable materials, they can pose a risk to staff and equipment during the process of collecting and separating the contents of your recycling bins.Aerosol cans are classified as household hazardous waste (HHW) and instead of being placed in your kerbside recycling bins, should be taken to your local HHW disposal site.

Other HHW items include paint and paint tins, batteries, gas cylinders, fluorescent tubes and chemicals and should not go into any of your household bins. These items can be disposed of at no charge at several collection sites around Perth. To find your closest drop off location go to Find My Nearest.

Soft (or scrunchable) plastics can no longer be placed into the yellow-topped recycling bin

Soft, scrunchable plastics like plastic bags, bread bags, plastic wrappers and glad wrap are difficult products to recycle through a kerbside recycling bin and often get mixed up with other lightweight streams like paper at the recovery facility, causing contamination of other materials such as paper and cardboard. Soft plastics must be placed in your General Waste bin.

Changes to the yellow recycling bin

Only the following items should be placed into the yellow-top recycling bin:

All items should be placed clean, dry and empty with lids removed and placed in the bin loosely.

Aluminium cans (clean & empty)

  • All aluminium cans including:
    • Beer cans
    • Soft drink cans
    • Coffee/Milo tins

Cardboard (flattened)

  • Cardboard boxes (flattened)
  • Beer cartons (flattened)
  • Cereal boxes (remove bag)
  • Egg cartons
  • Greeting cards
  • Toilet Paper/Paper towel rolls (roll only)
  • Washing Power boxes (empty)

Steel cans (clean & empty)

  • All steel cans/tins including:
    • Food tins (rinsed)
    • Pet food tins (rinsed)
  • Beer bottle tops
  • Jar lids

Glass (clean & empty)

  • Glass bottles and jars including:
    • Beer bottles
    • Coffee jars
    • Sauce bottles (rinsed)
    • Spirit bottles
    • Wine bottles

Plastic containers and bottles (clean & empty)

  • Milk bottles
  • Soft drink bottles
  • Water bottles
  • Ice cream containers
  • Margarine tubs
  • Yoghurt containers
  • Plastic containers from kitchen (rinsed and empty) ie sauce bottles
  • Plastic containers from laundry (rinsed and empty) ie detergent bottles
  • Plastic containers from bathroom (rinsed and empty) ie shampoo bottles
  • Take-away food containers (rinsed, not polystyrene)

Paper (not shredded)

  • Newspapers
  • Paper (not shredded)
  • Paper bags
  • Computer paper (not shredded)
  • Envelopes
  • Fruit juice cartons (not silver lined)
  • Milk cartons (not silver lined)
  • Glossy magazines/brochures
  • Junk mail
  • Wrapping paper

Do not place the following items into your recycling bin:

X Plastic bags X Plastic film X Nappies X Clothes and textiles X Garden and food waste X Gas bottles X Aerosol cans X Electronic waste X Batteries X Ropes, cables and hose X Materials in bags X Meat trays