City of Cockburn, PO Box 1215, Bibra Lake DC, Western Australia, 6965
Telephone: (08) 9411 3444

Recycling Bins - FAQ 

Visit our Which Bin page for full details on what we can recycle!

TOP 3 RECYCLING MYTHS -  BUSTED!

  1. "It doesn't matter what I put in my recycling bin, because it all ends up in landfill."
    In the City of Cockburn, all materials placed in the yellow-topped bin are sorted at the Regional Resource Recovery Centre in Canning Vale.  Using a state of the art system all recyclables are sorted and baled, before being sent to manufacturing facilities all over Australia and Asia for re-use in industry.
  2. "Old growth forests are destroyed to make Australian newspapers"
    Thanks to the two billion newspapers and magazines that are recycled every year the average newspaper is made using 30% recycled content.  The rest is wood fibre a residue from thinnings and harvesting sustainably grown timber.  No old growth wood had been used in Australian newsprint since 1991.

  3. "I can leave the lids on my plastic containers and jars."
    As the materials used to make the lids of plastic bottles and jars are different to the body of the container, they need to be separated before placing them in the yellow top bin.


Other recycling programs that collect materials and products that can't go in your yellow bins:

  • Printer Cartridges - Planet Ark, you can find recycling boxes in the City's Libraries in participating Australia Post, Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Tandy, Dick Smith Electronics and Powerhouse stores.
  • Corks - Guides Australia, collect wine and champagne corks nationally through a network of individuals and collection points at hotels, restaurants and supermarkets.
  • Mobile Phones - Mobile Muster - phones can be recycled in the
    City's Libraries and via most mobile phone outlets.
  • Plastic Shopping Bags - Coles and Woolworths recycle these; look for the bins out the front of your supermarket.
  • Drycell Batteries - Battery World and in the City's Libraries 

So What Does Go in my Yellow Recycle Bin!

The following items should be put into the yellow-topped bin:

  • Glass bottles, jars and containers 
  • All plastic containers: This includes all cool drink, juice, milk bottles, and plastic containers 
  • Aluminium cans and foil (all aluminium cans, foil and trays) 
  • Steel cans (Food and pet food containers and empty paint cans) 
  • Aerosol cans (These are fully recyclable and DO NOT present a hazard during collection and sorting) 
  • Liquid paperboard (Fruit juice and dairy cartons and long-life product packaging) 
  • Paper and cardboard (all newspapers, all thicknesses of cardboard, cereal boxes, office paper and glossy magazines
     

And What Goes in my Green Top Bin!

This bin is for all kitchen waste, general household waste and small garden waste such as lawn clippings and small prunings.

Under the Regional Resource Recovery strategy, not only will dry materials such as glass, paper, metals and plastics be recycled, but organic household waste will also be recovered as a valuable resource in the form of a high quality compost, suitable for use in agriculture.

In order to avoid contamination of the compost, it is important that the following items are NOT placed in the green bin:

  • No glass of any sort
  • No car batteries
  • No construction, demolition or earth materials
  • No hazardous household waste
  • No hot ashes

So now you know what to do with your waste and help make the environment a cleaner place!

Further Recycling Info

Need more Info?

Phone: 9411 3444
Email: customer