Brisbane City Council has waived the $30 establishment fee when you order a larger recycling bin to replace your standard 240-litre recycling bin.
Tenants, owner-occupiers and property investors are all eligible to order a larger recycling bin.
The establishment fee for Green bin is also waived but there is additional quarterly charges.
Why ?
We already have 5 bins now, 4 of which are collected weekly.
What if they wanted 6 bins??
It would depend on the lid colour.
We used to have an extra recycling bin for free but the council (Casey) wanted to start charging for it so we sent it back. TBH we'd only use the extra one around XMas and birthdays with all the kids cardboard in it but still was nice to have.
Recycling centres should take cardboard if you wanted it gone ASAP.
The guys working at recycling centres (Balcatta, WA) are rather unfriendly to deal with. I remember bringing my used engine oil there, and they made a big fuss because I emptied it into an unmarked bottle.
Another time I had old solvents, and because it was in unmarked drums, they refuse to take it. So I just let it sit in the sun on a large open top drum and slowly evaporate.
@t25: That's kinda different to recycling cardboard though - there are specific processes for disposing of oil an the storage of it.
If anything, they should have at least told you how it needs to be brought in.
@BillyG687: I had similar experiences with cardboard. They only wanted the brown stuff. If it was coloured or shredded (recycled packaging) they wouldn’t take it, and in fact directed a good majority of my rubbish to the tip as landfill. I find that my particular recycling centre just likes to make things difficult. So I avoid going there. Of course I’m sure other recycling centres are just great and will work with the ratepayers on properly recycling and sorting what’s rubbish and what isn’t.
@t25: For my local waste transfer station (NAWMA Resource Recovery Centre - Pooraka), gate staff ask what you've got, just paper and cardboard, "OK, bin is over there". Job done.
@t25: After multiple major fires at recycling centres last year, nearly all our recycling in WA is now going to landfill (or up in smoke).
One of the closed facilities was the largest in the southern hemisphere.
https://thewest.com.au/news/perth/third-cleanaway-recycling-…
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-12-11/recycling-material-du…
I have a large recycling cage at work now for “emergency” purposes 😀
Moreland council will upgrade your Green bin for free to a large one. They also give you a useful caddy for food scraps.
Moreland council will upgrade your Green bin for free to a large one.
I just called them.
Not if you don't live in Moreland…
What are we meant to do with all the amazon boxes.
EXaCTlY!! Yes.
Even flattening them doesn't help.
if they fit in the bin you can use them to dump rubbish in instead of the large plastic bags. i started doing this instead of wasting time breakin them down. saves me buying big plastic rubbish bin bags.
if they fit in the bin you can use them to dump rubbish in instead of the large plastic bags.
quicker and easier to just pile them up in the backyard and put a match to them…
@jv: Great idea, let's all just pump even more emissions into the atmosphere rather than just putting the cardboard in the bin to decompose in landfill.
Great idea, let's all just pump even more emissions into the atmosphere
fire and smoke are a natural part of the earth's ecosystem.
@XVX: When wood, paper or timber decomposes underground, it produces methane, which is a lot worse than the CO2 produced by burning it.
@NigelPearson: Do you have any studies or anything that shows methane produced from landfill being worse than the output of burning the same amount of rubbish? Everything I have found has said landfill is the much better option.
@XVX: 1) Sorry, I have been looking, but the research paper sites I have access to need money to pay for recent papers.
Slightly older papers like this: https://www.int-res.com/articles/cr/13/c013p221.pdf
compare the burning of biomass with alternatives. See graph on page 226.
Burning = 1.5 tonnes CO2, Landfill = 8.3 tonnes CO2 equivalent
2) It depends on the landfill. Lots of papers modelling methane production in different circumstances. Dry topsoil is low, wet anaerobic is high. Also, not all landfill sites have pipes to extract methane as biofuel (which allows burning, to convert to energy and CO2)
Melbourne city centre has one of the worst recycling culture i seen. Not easy to spot a can/bottle recycling spot and if there is. Then there is almost no where near enough of them. Not only that but then you have the homeless ravaging through the recycle bins leaving all your recycle everywhere on the road
The BCC website is dubiously worded. Nowhere does it mention on the order page that you can keep the old smaller recycling bin, the entire page uses the word "replace" everywhere and even specifically says to leave your smaller bin out for removal. Only the page that links to that page refers to additional bins.
I don't see how that is dubious…. they're clearly telling you it's a larger, replacement bin for your existing recycling bin. You can get two bins, but expect to pay for it.
Except the form used to have an option where it asked if you wanted to keep your older bin (I filled it in when I first bought my place - the bigger bin is fantastic, but not as useful as before container deposit schemes). This is no longer there, heavily implying council wants only one recycle bin per property. OP's description also is completely wrong if that's the case (this is the same council, by the way, that just cancelled annual large kerbside collection for two years…)
I just completed the application. It asks you to immediately put your current recycling bin out (full or empty). This implies it will be taken and a new one provided.
240L replaced with 340L.
@LuckyDrew: I reckon what they're doing is trying to save money by refurbishing the old bins, swapping the lid for green or red ones, and using them for new property orders.
@[Deactivated]: Recycling the recycling bins. Well technically re-using. But that’s even better on the hierarchy of waste management.
nice!
I wish our council upgrade the size of our bin
Bigger recycling bin is a must. Really enjoy having the green bin as well.
Yeah, cause your feelings are more important than proper recycling.
Yeah you really showed 'em
@amazonprime you did this to me.
Everyone likes a bigger bin, see how much rubbish they squish to the bin on your neighbours, the lid can barely cover them.
wish they had it in vic councils… with increase of online groceries and supplies the amount of packaging wont fit to the fortnightly recycle bins
Not to mention all the beers.
Civic duty.
I think differently and instead of wishing for bigger bins, I wish that they stopped using so much unnecessary packaging. I have stopped buying specific brands and items for this reason. For example, I used to like cheezels but they put a chip bag inside a cardboard box. Double packaging for no good reason. We need to tell these companies to stop it. Getting bigger bins just encourages more waste. I don't care if it's a 'recycling' bin. Have you seen the stuff on Singapore and where a lot of our recycling goes? It isn't getting recycled properly so we need to minimize the waste from the source imo.
I agree, was actually wondering if anyone was taking our recycling at the moment.
This is awesome though, thanks poster
Stonnington can get what appears to be unlimited completely free extra recycling bins: https://www.stonnington.vic.gov.au/Services/Waste-and-recycl…
Excellent!
Will you get a rise on your Council rate bill with this bigger recycling bin? Concerning because they've already raised the rego. Thanks in advance!
Edited: Sorry, missed the title, "no additional quarterly charge" nice!
No. No additional charge unless you get a green waste bin. Also, if you're paying someone claiming to be the Brisbane City Council for your car rego, you might want to talk to the police because you been scammed.
no no, what I meant was, the rego already got raised I just don't want raised on the BCC bill too, that's all.
pay commercial rates of $18,000 a year to Brisbane Council and asked for a recycling bin and they said we would need to pay more for it.
If you can afford $18000, what's another couple of bucks lol
Got excited about this then remembered I am in MBRC :(
Are green bins available in MBRC?
Great. I have ordered mine. Our recycling bin is frequently overflowing, whereas general waste is frequently only half full. This will definitely help. Thanks.
Reminder that if you're renting, you have to talk to your real estate agent or landlord to have them order it for you. It's free so there's no reason they shouldn't except to be a bit of a dick. And if you're in an apartment, the body corporate has to order them.
As a renter I did second guess doing this myself, but the page is pretty clear -
Tenants, owner-occupiers and property investors are all eligible to order a larger recycling bin.
Ah cool - that must be specific to while they aren't charging establishment fees then. When it was the $30 (which is whacked onto the next rates bill) the owner had to apply. Nice to see the council thought that through for a change!
Thanks op. We got one. Our standard recycling bin always fills up before the fortnight. This will definitely help.
I checked into this for my local area - Ryde Council -
They charge just $52.50 per year for extra 240L green or recycling bins.
Not bad really! Not free, but in the grand scheme of things better than $634 for additional 240L garbage bins.
ref: https://www.ryde.nsw.gov.au/Environment-and-Waste/Waste-and-…
My council (Mornington Peninsula, VIC) offers bigger or more bins for cash, which is fairly typical of them. But you can take recycling to the transfer station for free, which is just round the corner for me - not hard to take a box full of boxes while on my way out somewhere.
Easy to identify BNE Ozbargainers now, they'll all have the larger bins.
Ordered.
Thanks OP.
Anyone have any success ordering an additional bin? Can only find the option to order a new set for newly built houses.
Additionals aren't a thing any more. One bin per property. OP is wrong.
Australia recycles? I thought we outsource and send everything to China and now China doesn't want it and it just get thrown on empty land for future gov to deal with?
Yeah, that's right, we just put it in a different bin to do it.
Where does it go though? Actually needs to go to a factory that will sort and break down the materials and then to a factory that will produce something from the raw materials
Instead of upsizing our recycling bins, we should be reducing the amount of waste
Absolutely, but we also desperately need a thriving local recycling industry to curb landfill as well.
Recycling isn't considered waste if it's reusable? When they roll out the larger recycling bins in Perth, they also down size the general waste bin to a 140L bin.
Why would it be? If it's being used for something useful then it's not waste.
There's a reason why the phrase goes Reduce, Reuse, Recycle - recycling should be the last resort.
Recycling isn't considered waste if it's reusable?
It often wastes energy.
Of course but that's a societal/generation change. This just means less landfill waste right now
I ordered additional bin for 30 bucks a few years, no additional charges ever. Great having a second bin that I can also use as general rubbish overflow and transfer it into the other bin the following week
Anyone know what the physical dimension differences are between the two sizes?
We get a 360L recycling bin in Perth (which is pretty close?) It's 904mm deep x 699mm wide x 1116mm high. Compared to the 240L at 730x675x1080mm.
The council page says the larger (340L) bin:
are 1100 millimetres high, 680 millimetres wide and 870 millimetres deep
If you had trouble figuring out if you existing bin is 240L or not (like me):
The size of your wheelie bin is imprinted on the right hand side of the top rim of your bin body (see photo).
The stamp includes information about the Australian Standard number, bin size (in litres) and bin weight (in kilograms).
You may be required to know your bin size when changing sizes or repairing your bins.
Source: https://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/environment/residential-bin…
I encountered an error message saying that the request could not be processed when I entered my rate account number. However, if I choose to manually enter my address, then it allows me to proceed with the application. Has anyone encountered this?
Same here might be an issue on their end but went though fine after entering the details manually.
My council has done this too - https://www.joondalup.wa.gov.au/kb/resident/360-litre-recycl…
We got a big ol bin
YEAH NAH, they gonna upgrade your bin first, then next year slap you with a bigger bin fee, no such thing as a free lunch. Besides with recycling centers offering 10c for cans and all soft plastics going to the recycle bin at woolies, our recycling bin fills up slow.
Oh yeah, now I can feel like a big man and not in my neighbour's bin shadow.
Same, my neighbor will look at me with respect
Anyone know how much is the additional quarterly charge for larger green bin?
Web site shows only charge for 240L green bin: https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/clean-and-green/rubbish-tips…
There is no larger green bin.
True, but you can order 2 green bins. You can request more than 2 but you have to justify why..
Just spoke to BCC and ordered my yellow recycling larger bin.
I asked about extra fees, and the the operator said no additional Quarterly fee
Cheers OP :)
Poor Melbourne, they doing bit tough down there.
If you guys are interested, best to check your own council too as my council also has free upgrades to 360l recycling bins.
Where is that? Thanks.
Thanks for this, I needed a new lid anyway as my old yellow lid was busted and hanging off one side.
i've received mine. it is much bigger than the old one
How long did it take to receive yours? Getting on two weeks for us and still waiting
took 12 days
Mine was changed in 5 days.
I like having both red lid (or black lid) and yellow lid bins the same size. Having a larger general waste bin to match the larger yellow one would be nice.
Lol but yes. My general waste bin is usually <1/4 full though so even if it looked better it would be pretty pointless.
![[QLD] Upsize Your Recycling Bin For Free @ Brisbane City Council](https://files.ozbargain.com.au/n/92/548992.jpg?h=a4128e2b)
I wish I had an extra bin :(
sosad @victoria