What plastics to put into your yellow bin

Source separation, rubbish stream, waste recovery – it’s all for naught without your help. Recycling begins at home. Granted, plastics can be a confusing lot – there’s everything from the thinnest scrap of Quality Street chocolate wrapping (lined with foil, just to make things trickier) to 8kg tubs of MUSCLES! NOW! protein supplement.

Which one goes in the yellow bin? Use the scrunch test. If you can screw it up into your fist, it’s a “soft” plastic. Only rigid or hard plastics, such as plastic bottles and container (ie 8kg tubs of MUSCLES NOW! protein supplement) can be added to your domestic yellow lid container recycling bin.

All plastic – and metal and carton containers, glass bottles and jars – from the kitchen, bathroom and laundry are fine, even without recycling symbols.

Yellow bin, IN!

  • Disposable plastic containers
  • Small plastic plant pots
  • Plastic meat trays
  • Tetra Paks
  • Liquid board containers
  • Fruit punnets
  • Steel, aerosol and aluminium cans
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Drink cartons

 

Yellow bin, OUT

  • Polystyrene
  • Ceramic crockery
  • Non-recyclable glass
  • No plastic bags or soft plastics like cling wrap
  • White glass (like Malibu bottles)
  • Flat glass
  • Furniture or toys

PS. As for that soft stuff? Easy. Collect it in a plastic shopping bag and drop it into a REDCycle bin on your next Coles or Woolies shop. You can read about the exact process here, but in a nutshell, your soft plastic is turned into long-lasting everyday-use products such as fitness circuits, outdoor furniture, bollards, signage and more.