Sorting Your Waste
Learn how to correctly sort your waste.
Rubbish Bin (dark green or red lid bin)
- Food scraps
- Nappies, wipes and sanitary products
- Garden organic waste
- Pet waste and kitty litter
Recycling Bin (yellow lid)
- Aluminium* and steel cans (clean and empty)
- Glass bottles* and jars (clean and empty)
- Plastic containers* (clean and empty with lids removed)
- Cardboard (please flatten)
- Paper and magazines (not shredded paper, paper towels or tissues)
*Note: some of these items are eligible for the WA Container Deposit Scheme. For more details go to the Container Deposit Scheme page.
PLEASE NOTE: Due to the suspension of REDCYCLE soft plastic collection points at local supermarkets on 9 November 2022, please put soft plastics (such as chip packets, food wrap and plastic bags) into your general waste bin (dark green/red lid) until further notice.
For a more comprehensive guide on what to put in your bins, please see the Waste Guide.
A-Z Waste & Recycling Guide
Top Tip - Recycling
- Items should be loose (not in plastic bags).
- Rinse all bottles and containers.
- Remove plastic bottle tops, store them separately and take to a Precious Plastic collection point such as Origins Market or Makit Hardware for recycling. See Recycle Right App or website for all locations.
- Anything smaller than the size of your palm will not be recycled.
What happens to your recycling?
Your recyclables are taken to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) and are sorted, separated, baled and transported to manufacturers who recycle them into new products. Some recyclables are exported.
Items not suitable for either bin
Not all items can go into your bins. These items should not be placed in your rubbish or recycling bin but instead be dropped off at one of the City’s waste facilities to be recycled:
- Scrap metal (car bodies, microwaves, fridges, etc.)
- Electronic waste (TVs, computers, keyboards, mobile phones, etc.)
- Batteries
- Printer cartridges (Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Kyocera)
- Fluorescent lights (tubes)
- Compact fluorescent light globes (CFLs)
- Gas bottles
- Used motor oil (containers up to 20L)
- Paint (see below)
- Household chemicals
- Cooking oil
- Fire extinguishers
- Aerosol cans
These items are FREE to recycle except in commercial quantities.
The Paintback scheme supports the responsible disposal of waste paint, away from landfill. Do NOT put paint or paint tins in your kerbside bins. Drop off unwanted household paint and paint tins at one of the City’s waste facilities at NO charge.
A free drumMUSTER recycling service operates for cleaned agricultural and veterinary chemical drums (plastic and steel). Drums must be triple rinsed and brought in on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Please telephone either the Dunsborough Waste Facility (0417 179 596) or Busselton Transfer Station (0408 933 441) to arrange disposal of drums.
More detailed information on the drumMUSTER programme is available on the website.
For disposal of large quantities of motor oil (containers larger than 20L), please contact Wren Oil on (08) 9725 4002.
Recyclables which incur a fee at the waste facilities
- Car tyre $8.00 (without rim)
- Larger tyres priced according to size
- Mattress $5.00
Note that charges may apply to green, general and commercial waste including cardboard, fridges and electronic waste, if certain criteria is not met. Please refer to the Waste Disposal Charges sheet for more information.
Alternative collection points for recyclable materials
• Household batteries - Busselton Library, Geographe Leisure Centre, Naturaliste Community Centre Dunsborough, Aldi, Woolworths (Kent St), and Bunnings.
• Mobile phones - Busselton Telephones, Woolworths (Kent St) and Telstra
• Printer cartridges – Australia Post, Aldi, The Good Guys, Cartridge World, Retravision, Harvey Norman and Computer West
• Fluorescent lights (tubes only) - Light Ideas and Direct Lighting
• Bottle caps/plastic lids – Geographe Timber & Hardware Makit (Busselton), Zen Café (Busselton), Origins Market (Busselton), YMCA Family Day Care (Busselton), Return IT Busselton, MR Refund Dunsborough, Vasse General Store and Dunsborough Community Garden
Get the Recycle Right App!
Recycle Right is an educational tool to help you sort your waste and remind you when to put your bins out. In addition to the usual household waste items, the database also includes over 50 drop off points for recyclable items which do not belong in your yellow lidded bin including batteries, bottle lids, printer cartridges and so much more. With the Bin Day Reminder function, you can set your phone to notify you when your bins are due for collection.
You can download the application on your phone or tablet or visit the Recycle Right website. Search for “Recycle Right” in your app library and look for the symbol with green, yellow & red arrows.
The app is free to use and requires no registration to use.
Related Information
Waste Facilities
Container Deposit Scheme