Disposing of waste responsibly is essential to maintaining a clean, safe, and sustainable environment. By knowing exactly what can and cannot go into your general waste skip bin, you can help reduce contamination, increase recycling efficiency, and ensure compliance with local regulations. The following guide provides a clear overview of accepted materials and prohibited items, making it easier for you to manage your waste disposal with confidence and care.
✔ Allowed Items
🧱 Mixed Building Waste (Non-Hazardous)
- Bricks
- Dry concrete
- Tiles
- Gyprock
- Plasterboard
- Metal scraps
- Rubble
- Soil, sand, rocks, and stones (moderate amounts)
🪑 Household Furniture
- Bed bases
- Old couches, sofas, lounges
- Tables, chairs, and common household furniture
🌱 Green Waste
- Small tree logs (<50cm thick)
- Grass clippings
- Shrub and yard trimmings
- Untreated timber offcuts
⚙ Household Appliances
- White goods (e.g., washing machines, refrigerators*)
- Kitchen appliances (e.g., microwaves, kettles)
*Check if refrigerants or doors need special handling.
🧩 New Insulation Material
- Unused/new insulation (recoverable and reusable)
♻ Plastics (Including PVC Piping)
- Rigid plastics
- PVC pipes (clean and free of contaminants)
🧱 Fibre Cement Sheeting (Non-Asbestos)
- Blueboard
- Villaboard
- Compressed cement sheeting (must be confirmed asbestos-free)
👕 Fabrics and Clothing
- Clothing, shoes, sneakers, and textiles
🌳 Bagged Sawdust
- Clean, bagged sawdust (potentially reusable)
✘ Not Allowed Items
🔋 Batteries
- Car batteries, lithium batteries, tool batteries, toy batteries
💧 Liquid Waste & Paint
- Paint tins (including empty)
- Spray cans with residue
- Oils, solvents, chemicals, and any liquids
⚠ Hazardous Building Materials
- Asbestos-containing materials
- Fibro cement sheeting suspected to contain asbestos
🚫 Vinyl Flooring & Certain Floor Coverings
- Non-recyclable vinyl flooring and similar coverings
🔥 Pressurized & Hazardous Items
- Fire extinguishers
- Gas bottles (cylinders)
🍗 Food & Liquids
- Food scraps, liquid foods, and takeout containers with residue
💉 Medical or Biohazardous Waste
- Needles, syringes, soiled dressings, diagnostic samples, pharmaceuticals
- Anything contaminated with blood or bodily fluids
♨ Oil-Filled Items
- Oil heaters that cannot be safely drained
🧊 Foam & Polystyrene
- Large amounts of foam packaging and polystyrene
🚗 Rubber Tyres
- Car/truck tyres, shredded tyres, tyre casings
🪣 Resins & Non-Recyclable Plastics
- Hardened or liquid resins not suitable for recycling
🌬 Silica Dust-Producing Materials
- Excessive fine silica dust from bricks, cement, concrete, drywall cutting
🦺 Old Insulation
- Used or contaminated insulation
🏟 Synthetic Grass & Astro Turf
- Artificial turf, rubber flooring, softfall, and related synthetic materials
