Glass recycling bin

The State Government is standardising household waste and recycling services, to make Victoria’s future recycling system more sustainable.

Under the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021, all Victorian councils must provide a standard, four-stream waste and recycling system to households by 2030.

This will ensure that more of what we dispose of can be recovered and recycled into new things.

Glass often breaks during the collection process which contaminates other valuable materials such as paper and cardboard, reducing their quality and ability to be recycled.

Keeping glass separate means more materials can be recycled into valuable products and ultimately keeps more materials out of landfill.

Households with access to a kerbside bin service will receive a fourth 120L purple-lid bin for glass recycling, to be emptied once a month.

Glass recycling drop-off points will be set up at rural transfer stations for residents who do not have access to the kerbside service.

The same glass items that you can currently put in your mixed recycling bin, i.e.

• Glass jars (empty, lightly rinsed): pasta sauce, jam, condiments etc.
• Glass bottles (empty, lightly rinsed): oil, wine, sauce, cordial, champagne, beer, spirit etc.

Broken glass bottles and jars can also go in your glass recycling bin.

Put all other glass items in your red-lid rubbish bin.

Different types of glass melt at different temperatures, and so can’t all be recycled. This is why some glass items cannot be put in the glass recycling bin, including:

• Drinking glasses
• Broken windows or mirrors
• Broken light bulbs
• Vases
• Glass or ceramic cooking dishes
• Perfume or makeup containers

Dispose of these non-recyclable glass items in your red-lid rubbish bin.

One of the most prevalent types of glass, soda-lime-silica glass (SiO4) accounts for about 90% of the manufactured glass. This generally takes the form of container glasses (jars and bottles).

Soda-lime-silica glass is generally inexpensive, easily workable, chemically stable, and extremely hard. Soda-lime-silica glass can be remelted without losing quality or quantity making it 100% recyclable.

Other types of glass are made differently using different chemical bonds and additives leading to differing melting points making them not suitable for recycling using the Glass recycling service starting on 1 July 2024.

Broken glass jars or bottles can be put in your glass recycling bin. It is also OK if a glass bottle or jar breaks when you place it into the bin. Leave the glass containers whole where possible, otherwise this may make the bin too heavy for collection.

All other types of broken glass or glass materials should be placed in your red-lid rubbish bin.

Empty and lightly rinse your glass bottles and jars, however they don’t need to be spotless.

Labels can stay on glass bottles and jars.

Metal lids can be recycled in the yellow-lid recycling bin and plastic lids are disposed of in the red-lid rubbish bin. 

120L, the same size as your red-lid rubbish bin.

Once a month. 

Collection schedules are currently being designed and will be communicated to residents before the service is scheduled to commence. 

A new glass pre-processing facility will be established at the Mildura Landfill site. The collected glass will be crushed throughout the year and will be used as a recycled product in construction projects locally.

The new service is scheduled to commence on 1 July 2024.

Deliveries will begin on 8 April 2024. Residents will also receive an education pack on the four-bin system. If you have not received your new 120L glass recycling bin by 4 May 2024, please contact council. 

Households will not be able to opt-out of this service.

All Victorian households must have access to a four-stream recycling service by 2030. We see this as a vital step in reducing the amount of waste we send to landfill due to contamination.

Audits show that on average, 38% of the mixed yellow-lid recycling bin is glass (by weight).

Having a glass-only bin on your property will also ensure no glass is put in a mixed recycling bin.

Businesses will have the opportunity to opt in on the service by contacting Council to request a glass bin. 

We encourage all businesses to reduce their waste and recycle as much as possible. We encourage businesses to opt in for the new service if they have any glass recycling as glass will no longer be accepted into the yellow recycling bin. Glass can also be dropped off at any of the landfills or transfer stations at a cost. If a business would like to opt into a kerbside glass service, please ring Council on 5018 8100.

We understand there is limited space in some circumstances, such as rear laneways and in units. Residents are advised that the State Government is standardising household waste and recycling services, under the Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021, all Victorian councils must provide a standard, four-stream waste, and recycling system to households by 2030. 

Weight should not be an issue if the glass bin is used correctly. To aid in this, please, do not smash large amounts of accepted glass to fill your new purple-lid glass recycling bin as this will make it too heavy for collection. Leave glass containers whole where possible, small amounts of accidental breakage is OK to put in purple-lid glass recycling bin.

Only glass drink containers (such as drinking bottles) will be eligible under the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS). Sauce and oil bottles and glass jars will not be accepted through the CDS.

A recent audit showed that only 8% (by weight) of glass in the average yellow-lid recycling bin would be eligible under the CDS.

The kerbside glass recycling service will be a convenient option for those people who choose not or are unable to use the CDS.

The cost savings from removing glass from the yellow-lidded recycling bin will help pay for the introduction of the new glass recycling service. The new service will cost an average of $24.07 per property for the 24/25 financial year.

If you are not going to use the glass bin, please keep your bin stored on your property. If you move house, the next family may want to use the glass bin. Bins stay with the property. Please note that glass will not be allowed to go into the recycling bin after the service starts on 1 July 2024.