What happens to your waste

Wondering where your waste goes after your bins have been collected? The following resources provide information about what happens next.

Recycling bin items

In order to do the right thing for the environment, ensure a safe and efficient process and keep costs down, we all need to recycle correctly. Find out more about what goes in each bin.

The contents of your recycling bin are taken to Cleanaway in Coolaroo. 

If you’ve ever wondered about what happens to your recycling, here is an insight:

 

This video, filmed at Cleanaway's Laverton North facility, shows how recycling is collected and sorted.  

For more information, visit: Cleanaway.

What happens to the sorted materials?

The junk mail you recycle could end up as food packaging, the glass jar you put into the recycling bin might become part of a new road, and your steel can could be used in somebody’s cooktop!

Paper and cardboard

Baled up and sent for pulping. Paper products are turned into items like food and other consumer packaging.

Hard plastic containers and bottles

Sent to a plastic processing facility, broken down and turned into other hard plastic products, like drink containers.

Steel and aluminium

Steel is sent to a steel mill and turned into new steel sheets that can be used in products such as cooktops and in building infrastructure. Aluminium is baled and sent to a smelter to be reused as food and drink containers.

Glass

Melted down and used for a wide range of products like glass bottles, insulation and road surfaces.

Green waste bin items

The Back to Earth Initiative website has some great information and videos outlining how council green waste is recycled and used for farming and gardens. It also shows how using the collection service correctly helps to create useful compost products and reduce the amount of organic waste dumped in landfill.

  

Landfill bin items

The contents of your landfill bin are delivered to Hanson Landfill in Wollert.

For more information, visit: Hanson Landfill.

Hard waste collection items

The booked hard waste service is collected by WM Waste Management Services.

This service is for damaged items that cannot be repaired or reused. Items are recovered and recycled where possible including metals, household appliances, e-waste/electronics, tools and mattresses.

To find out if an items could be recycled or used again, check our A-Z of waste disposal guide.