Collection services

Port Stephens has over 35,000 waste services across the local government area and to ensure your bins are collected quickly, quietly and safely please:

• Place your bin out the night before collection day as bins can be collected as early as 6am the day of collection. Bins must be brought back to the property within 24 hours after collection
• Ensure your lids are closed, with no waste protruding from the bin
• Don’t overload your bin; our collection vehicles cannot lift bins heavier than 70kg
• Don’t place non-conforming waste in either bin; this may result in your bin being rejected for collection
• Space bins at least one metre from each other
• Don’t place your bins behind or too close to parked cars, trees or street signs
• Look up! Don’t place your bins underneath closely overhanging trees or power lines
• Bins should be placed with wheels towards your property and logos facing the road.
• Council works with our waste contractor to ensure servicing capabilities and safety. This may result in reviews and changes to the way a resident or residents present their bins to the kerb. Residents will be notified of any changes via mail if you are unsure of any servicing requirements for your property please contact our Waste Team
• Council has a regular bin inspector who will sticker your bins to let you know how your recycling or garden organics is going. The inspections are for education purposes and to help improve the quality of our recycling and garden organics by reducing our contamination. Residents might receive one of the following stickers.
  • White – the bin or its contents are non-conforming and might mean your bin is facing the wrong way, items are protruding out of the bin, bin was inaccessible to service
  • Green – you have placed the correct items in the bin
  • Yellow – there were some items in the bin that were incorrectly placed but your bin was still serviced as usual
  • Red – your bin is heavily contaminated and the majority of the bin were incorrect items. Please remove these from your bin and let our contractor know and they will come back to collect it

Tips and tricks to keeping your bins clean

Smells in the bins come from food and garden waste breaking down. Bacteria start to eat this material which results in smells and can increase pests and bugs in the bin. To reduce this from happening you can try the following:

• Containers don’t have to be perfectly clean but should be empty before they go in the recycling bin however during summer when smells are more obvious, rinsing your containers out can help to reduce smells in your recycling bin
• Freezing food waste until the night before collection. Freezing meats, seafood and other high smelling foods and placing them in the garbage bin the night before collection will reduce smells and reduce flies in the garbage bin.
• Garbage bags should be tied so the bag is completely sealed. Leaving gaps allows for bugs to enter the bag and can increase the risk of flies breeding. Unsealed bags also allow for an increase in smells.
• Double bag nappies and absorbent hygiene products making sure both bags are properly sealed.
• Wash your bins out regularly.
• Make sure your bin lids are closed and keep your bins in a cool and shaded spot.
• Don’t place liquids in the bins. These can spill out and cause smells in the bin.

To find out your bin day you can

• download our waste app
• visit the Waste calendar page, type your address into the search bar and your waste calendar will generate
• call us on 4988 0255

If your bin has been damaged or missing, report it online or contact us at 4988 0255.

Depending on the kind of waste, there are many things you can do if you have excess waste.

• Book an on-call kerbside collection for large bulky items
• If your household consistently has very full bins, you can get additional bins to your property for a fee. Contact us for more information

Other alternatives are

• Look at selling unwanted items online or donate to charities if items are still in great condition. Talk to friends and family if they might like any items you no longer want or need.
• Break down boxes and packaging to create more space in bins.
• Find a Return and Earn location near you. Create more space in your recycling bin and save money.
• Over 30% of garbage bins are full of food waste. Create more space in your garbage bin by reducing food waste through meal planning, and using leftovers. For more ideas on reducing food waste check out the NSW EPA’s Love Food Hate Waste

Food and garden waste are organic materials. When these enter a landfill the normal process of breaking down does not happen. Instead organic material breaks down very slowly and during this breaking down process creates a lot of methane gas which contributes to the greenhouse gas effect and climate change.

Organic material like garden and food waste breakdown it can release a gas called methane which smells like rotten eggs. This can also be made worse when bins are left in the sun or not regularly washed out.

Flies are attracted to smells coming from your bin. To help reduce flies you can

• Reduce the amount of food going into the bin.
• Ensure your bin lid is closed this helps reduce smells and stops bugs from getting in
• Freeze particularly smelly food waste like prawn shells and place them in the bin the night before your collection
• Make sure you are placing items in the bin that are clean and free of food
• Add a bug repellant tag to your bin

Remove all liquids from jars, bottles, and containers. They do not need to be perfectly clean, but cleaning them will help reduce smells in your bin.

Yes. Council offers residents a 360L recycling bin or residents can add an additional recycling bin service for a fee. Please contact Council for more information.