Bin Health Checks
From June 2 you might see Council’s Waste Service team in your neighbourhood as part of our Bin Health Check program. Officers will check in on 250 residents across the Burdekin to help improve recycling habits and reduce contamination in our kerbside yellow lidded recycle bins. The purpose of these bin health checks is to:
The data we collect as part of this program will be used by Council to develop future waste education materials to help provide sustainable and long-term waste solutions for our Shire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is funding the program?
The Bin Health Check program is proudly funded through the Queensland Government’s Let’s Get It Sorted program.
Will I be part of the program?
We will be conducting bin health checks on 250 households across Ayr and Home Hill.
What is a Bin Health Check?
A Bin Health Check is a simple ‘lift of the lid’ visual assessment of the recycling bins presented on bin collection day.
The checks will allow for our Waste Services team to gain an on-the-spot understanding of what items are being sorted into a household’s recycling bin and what items are persistent contaminants.
On your bin collection day, once your recycle bin has been placed out for collection, a Waste Officer will take a quick ‘lift of the lid’ look into your bin and provide feedback to the household via a recycling tag rating the level of contamination will be attached to the bin which will indicate to households how well they are recycling, what items cannot be recycled in the kerbside recycle bin and offer simple tips on how to improve recycling habits.
When will the checks start?
Bin Health Checks will commence on 2nd June 2025 through to July 2025.
How many times will my bin be tagged?
We will visit each household a maximum of 3 separate times throughout the program. Households with a bin that has high or repeated contamination may need to be revisited to see if any improvements in their recycling disposal habits have been made.
Recycling tags rating the level of contamination will be attached to the bin which will indicate to households how well they are recycling, what items cannot be recycled in the kerbside recycle bin and offer simple tips on how to improve recycling habits.
Tags include:
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Thank you
You’ll receive this tag if your recycling bin shows little or no contamination.
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We ask one small favour
You’ll receive this tag if your recycling bin shows some contamination. We may also leave you with a friendly note on what waste to leave out next time.
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We were not able to collect your bin today
You’ll receive this tag if your recycling bin shows a high level of contamination. You’ll also receive feedback on what waste should be removed before the next collection date. Highly contaminated bins may be flagged for collection by the refuse truck to avoid contamination of the recycling truck.
What does Council look for when assessing the bins?
During the quick ‘lift of the lid’ visual assessment of your recycling bins, our Waste Services team will look for signs of:
- contamination
- bagged recyclables
- hazardous items (batteries)
- items that are recyclable but not through kerbside recycling collection
- overflowing bin/s
- damage to your bins
- incorrect placements (i.e. bins placed too close together, bins blocked by car/s and/or tree/s etc.)
Why do bin health checks work?
Bin health checks in other local government areas within Australia have proven to be a successful strategy for reducing contamination in kerbside recycling because they allow for the opportunity to provide on-the-spot feedback about the contents of the bin.
Burdekin currently has a high level of recycling contamination in household recycling bins. As a result, problems that arise at the Material Recovery Facility (recycling centre) include endangering workers, reducing quality of recyclables, breakdowns in machinery causing delays in processing of recyclables, and ultimately increasing the costs of processing recycling material.
When we work together and put the right items in the right bins, we can produce high quality recyclables, reduce waste to landfill and reduce processing and disposal costs.
What will happen with the information collected?
We will use the data we collect to build upon the delivery of our waste education messages to the Burdekin community. This data will help us better understand what the most common contaminants found in household recycling bins may be and help develop greater messaging for residents.
What if I do not want my bins to be assessed?
The contents of the household bins are the legal possession of the property owner when on private land, however, once the bins are left out for collection, the contents become the property of Council. We will conduct a simple, quick, and visual assessment – not a manual search through the contents of your bins.
What if I continue to contaminate my recycling bin?
Bin Health Checks focus on education rather than enforcement. No fines will be issued. If a bin/s is found to have a high level of contamination, the bin/s will not be able to be serviced until the contaminants have been removed.
How will I receive feedback?
After our Waste Officers have conducted their assessment of the recycling bins, they will place a tag through the handle of each bin. The tag placed on each bin will depend on how correctly you have disposed of the waste in your bins.
What type of feedback will I receive?
The bin tags are designed with happy, disappointed, and sad faces to indicate whether they are being used correctly, partially correctly, or incorrectly. The tags will show you what items you should and should not put in each bin and why.
What can you do to receive a happy face tag?
To avoid receiving a sad or disappointed face bin tag, we encourage you to follow our recycling tips:
• Keep it simple
• Keep it loose
• Keep it clean
• Keep it safe
• Keep out soft plastics
• Keep out hazardous items
For more information on recycling tips and tricks check out the links below:
Let's get it sorted Burdekin | Burdekin Shire Council
Recycling Qld – let’s get it sorted | Environment, land and water | Queensland Government