What goes in your yellow lid bin?
Recycling is a great way to make a positive impact on the world around us and ensure a more sustainable future for generations to come.
By following these simple rules, you can help to conserve natural resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and decrease the need for new landfills.
Let’s Get it Sorted with these five materials you can recycle in your yellow lid bin
- Glass bottles and jars – beverage bottles, jam jars and sauce bottles, juice bottles and oil bottles.
- Paper and cardboard - egg cartons, pizza boxes, glossy magazines, toilet rolls, cereal boxes, juice and milk cartons, books/notebooks, wrapping paper and newspapers.
Hint: If the bottom of the pizza box is too greasy, break up the box and recycle the clean sections.
- Hard plastic containers – milk bottles, shampoo bottles, ice cream tubs, fruit punnets, meat trays, detergent and soap bottles.
- Steel containers – canned food tins and pet food tins.
- Aluminium – drink cans, empty aerosols, pie trays and foil from the kitchen, which should be scrunched into at least a golf ball size.
Full list of what you can recycle in your SDRC yellow lid bin
- Aerosol cans (empty)
- Aluminium cans (empty)
- Aluminium foil/trays
- Books/notebooks
- Bottle tops (plastic or metalremoved)
- Cardboard
- Cartons (empty milk, juice, etc)
- Deodorant bottles (empty)
- Detergent bottles (empty)
- Fruit/vegetable punnets
- Glass bottles/jars
- Haircare bottles
- Ice cream container
- Junk mail
- Magazines
- Meat trays (hard plastic)
- Medicine bottles (empty)
- Milk cartons/bottles
- Newspapers
- Paper
- Phone books
- Pizza box (empty)
- Plastic bottles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
- Sauce bottles
- Steel cans
- Take away containers (hard plastic / empty)
- Wine/beer bottles
- Yogurt containers (tubs only)
What can't go in the yellow lid bin?
These items should never be put in your yellow lid bin.
- Soft plastics
- Bagged recyclables
- Food or garden waste
- Clothes and textiles
- Rigid plastics (bucket, laundry basket, toys, etc.)
- Batteries, sharps and hazardous waste
- Other types of glass (window, eyeglasses, glassware)
- e-waste
Did you know that when these items are placed in your yellow lid bin it may mean your recycling goes to landfill? These contaminants can also damage the sorting machines and create safety problems for workers.
Tips for getting it sorted
- Scrape out all food containers and pizza boxes before they go into the yellow lid bin.
- If you’re unsure, give it a quick rinse. This helps prevent contamination and ensures that the recycling process runs smoothly.
- Keep a separate sorting basket for recyclables in your kitchen, laundry and bathroom.
- Some items are made up of recyclable and non-recyclable materials, separate soft plastics coverings from food packaging to ensure more items can be recycled.
- Don’t put your recyclables in a bag or bin liner as they may end up in landfill.
- Keep your recycling loose when it goes into your yellow lid bin.
- Keeping it loose also means recycling can be sorted and processed more easily and efficiently.
- Many household items like old clothes, toys and batteries are not suitable for recycling through your yellow lid bin but can be recycled through a range of alternative disposal programs offered by community organisations and retailers.
- Find out more at Recycle Mate - your local recycling guide.
- The best way to dispose of the plastic bottle caps and lids from your recyclable containers is to remove from the container and place in your general waste bin (green or red lid).
- Lids from glass bottles and jars should be removed from the container and placed in your yellow lid recycle bin.
- Please do not put plastic bottle lids into the yellow lid bin. They are too small for the sorting machinery to process separately, and the processor requires they be removed from the containers.
Soft plastics
If you can scrunch it in your hands, then it’s a soft plastic. This includes food packaging, plastic film, bags and bin liners.
Soft plastics can cause contamination and may lead to recyclable materials being sent to landfill.
Currently, Queenslanders don’t have access to soft plastic recycling via supermarket retailers. Please put soft plastics in the general waste bin or avoid them altogether.
In the meantime, try to reduce your plastic usage and consider purchasing products that are not packaged in plastic.
Food and garden waste
Food scraps and garden waste can’t go in the yellow lid bin and should be placed in your general waste bin (green or red lid).
Composting food scraps and garden waste at home is another great option. Find out more at Minimise Waste - Take Action.
Clothes and textiles
Clothing and other household textiles like towels, blankets and sheets can’t be recycled through your yellow lid bin.
There are a lot of things you can do to keep these out of landfill and in circulation, such as selling or donating unwanted clothes or repurposing old clothes and textiles into cleaning rags and donating old towels to your local animal shelter or hospital.
Find out more at Recycle Mate - your local recycling guide.
Rigid plastics
Items around your home made of hard/rigid plastic such as old toys, kitchenware, plant pots and industrial materials like PVC piping can’t be recycled through your yellow lid bin.
Use an alternative disposal option for hard/rigid plastics. If this is not an option, or they are at the end of their life, hard/rigid plastics should be placed in your general waste bin (green or red lid).
Paint and household chemicals
Paint and household chemicals can be dangerous when disposed of incorrectly.
They contain toxic substances that are harmful to you and the environment.
They should never be poured down the drain or into waterways.
Paint must never be placed in your bins but can be disposed of at any SDRC waste facility that has a Paintback disposal area.
Household chemicals must never be placed in your bins but can be disposed at some SDRC waste facilities from time to time. Contact Council for information.
Batteries
Batteries contain valuable resources which, if recycled correctly, can be reused, helping the environment and the economy.
Batteries should never be placed in your general waste bin or recycle bin, as they can cause fires in the bins or the trucks that collect them.
Use an alternative disposal option for batteries
Standard vehicle batteries and small household batteries can be disposed at any supervised SDRC waste facility. Speak to the supervisor on arrival.
e-waste
E-waste, or electronic waste is one of the fastest growing household waste items in Australia. However, these items contain valuable resources that can be recovered and recycled.
E-waste should never be placed in the general waste bin or recycle bin as they contain toxic chemicals such as lead, cadmium and mercury that are bad for the environment and hazardous to human health.
Use an alternative disposal option for e-waste by disposing of items at any supervised SDRC waste facility. Speak to the supervisor on arrival.
Other types of glass
Don’t put glassware in the yellow lid bin. This can contaminate other recyclables, as this type of glass melts at a different temperature compared to bottles and jars which have previously contained food or liquid.
Glass from household items like drinking glasses, window glass, Pyrex and any other glass which has not contained food or liquid, should be placed in the general waste bin.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The following main items can be placed in the yellow lid bin:
- Glass containers (empty), including jars and bottles
- Paper and cardboard (clean, not shredded) including pizza boxes and glossy magazines
- Hard plastic containers (empty) including drink bottles, shampoo bottles, yogurt and ice cream tubs
- Steel containers (empty) including tin food cans or pet food tins
- Aluminium foil, cans and aerosols (empty and scrunch foil into at least a golf ball size).
Full list of what you can recycle in your SDRC yellow lid bin:
- Aerosol cans (empty)
- Aluminium cans (empty)
- Aluminium foil/trays
- Books/notebooks
- Bottle tops (plastic or metal / removed)
- Cardboard
- Cartons (empty milk, juice, etc.)
- Deodorant bottles (empty)
- Detergent bottles (empty)
- Fruit/vegetable punnets
- Glass bottles/jars
- Haircare bottles
- Ice cream containers
- Junk mail
- Magazines
- Meat trays (hard plastic)
- Medicine bottles (empty)
- Milk cartons/bottles
- Newspaper
- Paper
- Phone books
- Pizza boxes (empty)
- Plastic bottles (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
- Sauce bottles
- Steel cans
- Take away containers (hard plastic / empty)
- Wine/beer bottles
- Yogurt containers (tubs only)
The following items cannot go in the yellow lid bin.
- Soft Plastics
- Bagged recyclables
- Food or garden waste
- Clothes and textiles
- Rigid plastics (bucket, laundry basket, toys, etc.)
- Batteries, sharps and hazardous waste
- Other types of glass (window, eyeglasses, glassware)
- e-waste
Food containers, pizza boxes and all other items need to be empty and have scraps removed before they go into the yellow lid bin.
If you are unsure, it’s always a safe option to give items a quick rinse. This helps to prevent contamination and ensures that the recycling process runs smoothly.
Take lids off items before putting them in the yellow lid bin and dispose of plastic lids in the general waste bin and metal lids in the yellow lid bin.
Several different packaging labels are used in Australia, and some items with a recycling symbol cannot be recycled in the yellow lid bin. When considering whether an item can go in the yellow lid bin, ask yourself what the item is made from. If the packaging is made from paper, cardboard, hard plastic, aluminium and steel or glass, it is likely it can be recycled.
Check Recycle Mate - your local recycling guide to search for the item you want to recycle in Southern Downs Regional Council.
The plastic resin codes (the triangle with a number inside) that are widely used across Australia, indicate the plastic type, not necessarily if it can be recycled. Plastics numbered 1 through 6 can go into your SDRC yellow lid bin.
Tetra packs are composed of a number of layers of different materials in order to contain food or drink. This composite material causes problems with the recycling machinery. These packs can only be put in the yellow lid bin if they are eligible for the 10c container refund. These refund containers are separated out and processed separately from the rest of SDRC recyclables.
If in doubt, leave it out.
Please do not put food or garden waste into the yellow lid bin. Garden waste can go in the general waste bin (green or red lid) or in your home composting.
The best place for food or garden waste is in a home compost bin. Find out more at Minimise Waste - Take Action.
If composting isn’t possible, place food and garden waste in the general waste bin.
Please do not put recyclable items in the yellow lid bin inside plastic bags. Recyclable items that are bagged before going into the yellow lid bin may end up in landfill.
If it’s soft and you can scrunch it in your hands, then it’s a soft plastic. This includes food packaging, chip and chocolate bar wrappers, plastic films and wraps.
Soft plastics get caught in the sorting machinery and can damage it. Currently, Queensland does not have any facilities that can process soft plastics for recycling, so it is best to put plastic bags and food wraps into the general waste bin.
Items around your home made of hard/rigid plastic such as old toys, kitchenware, plant pots and industrial materials like PVC piping can’t be recycled through your yellow lid bin.
Use an alternative disposal option for rigid plastic items. If this is not an option, or they are at the end of their life, rigid plastics should be placed in your general waste bin.
Household chemicals, pesticides, paints, batteries and e-waste cannot be put in any of your household bins. They can be very dangerous as they pose a hazard to the environment and a safety risk to workers in the sorting facility.
Do not put household chemicals in any of your household bins. They must not be poured down the sink, drain or toilet either.
Paint must never be placed in your bins but can be disposed of at any SDRC waste facility that has a Paintback disposal area
Household chemicals or pesticides must never be placed in your bins but can be disposed at some SDRC waste facilities from time to time. Contact Council for information.
Batteries cannot go in any of your household bins. All batteries are hazardous, from the AAA batteries in your TV remote to your car battery.
They contain toxins harmful to the environment and when placed in a household bin, they can cause fires in the bins or trucks that collect them.
Standard vehicle batteries and small household batteries can be disposed at any supervised SDRC waste facility. Speak to the supervisor on arrival.
Electronic waste refers to small and large household electrical appliances such as TVs, computers, old mobile phones, chargers, etc. (almost anything with a cord).
Use an alternative disposal option for e-waste by disposing of items at any supervised SDRC waste facility. Speak to the supervisor on arrival.
Don’t put any glassware in the yellow lid bin. This can contaminate other recyclables, as this type of glass melts at a different temperature compared to bottles and jars which have previously contained food or liquid.
Glass from household items like drinking glasses, window glass, Pyrex and any other glass which has not contained food or liquid, should be placed in the general waste bin
Wishcycling is the practice of putting something in the yellow lid bin in the hope that it will be recycled. Items such as clothing, kitchen glassware, scrap metal, soft plastics and rigid plastics are not suitable for recycling and should be placed in the general waste bin.
If these items are placed in your yellow lid bin, they will become contaminants to the recycling and will end up in landfill. Other recyclable items with it in the load are also likely to be sent to landfill, so in general, if an item is not listed on your Council website as recyclable, it is best to put it in the general waste bin.
Many household items like textiles, batteries, old soft toys, worn out shoes are not suitable for recycling through Council’s roadside recycling service, but may be recycled through alternative disposal methods. Some retailers and community organisations provide in-store collection bins where you can leave your items free of charge, and they will be recycled into other usable goods.
Check Recycle Mate - your local recycling guide or search online to find additional recycling opportunities.
This initiative is proudly supported by the Queensland Government’s Recycling and Jobs Fund.