Green bin
Your garden organics bin has a lime green lid, and is emptied fortnightly on the alternate week to your recycling bin.
The garden organics service is contracted to Solo Resource Recovery and Australian Native Landscapes. The material collected in your garden organics bin is processed at Tea Gardens, where it's made into a high quality compost for use by home gardeners and farmers.
Your green bin service is scheduled to include food organics and weekly collection from the week commencing 30 June 2025.
Find my next organics collection date
You can purchase an additional 240-litre garden organics bin by filling out this form.
What to put in your organics bin
DO put these items in your garden organics bin
- Grass clippings
- Prunings
- All weeds
- Leaves
- Flowers
- Plants
- Bark
- Sticks and small branches (max. diameter 10cm)
- Roots (max. diameter 10cm)
- Palm fronds
DON'T put these items in your garden organics bin
- Plastic bags or bin liners
- Garbage
- Pet (dog, cat, etc.) poo and poo bags
- Food waste or vegetable peelings
- Recyclables
- Oils or chemicals
- Pots
- Soil and rocks
- Bricks and building materials
- Treated or painted timber
- Composite wood products i.e. chipboard, melamine, MDF
We’ll be expanding the types of items you can put in your green bin for all collections after 30 June 2025. See the FAQs below to learn more.
How to ensure your organics bin is collected
- Place materials loosely in your bin – don’t squash your garden organics down
- Put sticks or dry leaves in the bottom of the bin before lawn clippings to prevent sticking
- The maximum weight is 80kg
- Place bins out regularly rather than wait for them to be full and possibly too heavy
- Try to mow your lawn when it's dry or leave the lid ajar to reduce excess moisture
- You can drop off large items that don’t fit into your garden organics bin at Cessnock Waste Management Centre for a small fee
What if my bin is missed or damaged?
Please contact Solo Resource Recovery to report any issues with your bin or service:
Food and garden organics collection
The NSW Government has mandated the inclusion of food waste into the green bin collection services across all Councils in NSW by 2030.
Cessnock, alongside Maitland and Singleton councils, is preparing to roll out food organic recycling from the week commencing 30 June 2025. The expanded food and garden organic service includes weekly collection of your green bin from this time.
Council has no plans to change general waste (red bin) services.
Find out more about FOGO here
Frequently asked questions
When does food and garden organics start?
Food and garden organics is likely to start halfway through 2025. The NSW EPA has mandated that all Councils transition to a food and garden organics collection by 2030. Cessnock, alongside Maitland and Singleton councils, is preparing to roll out food organic recycling from the week commencing 30 June 2025. The expanded service includes weekly collection of your green bin from this time.
What will go in my food and garden organics bin?
All food waste including raw and cooked food, bread, fruit, vegetables, meat, bones, poultry and seafood (excluding oyster, scallop and crab shells) can be placed in the organics bin from 30 June 2025, in addition to garden organics like leaves and grass clippings. Residents will be given a kitchen top bin (caddy) and compostable liners to help move food waste from the kitchen to the food and garden organics bin.
However, these changes are not starting just yet. We’ll be rolling out food organic collection from the week commencing 30 June 2025. Until then, your green bin remains only for garden organics.
What can’t go in the food and garden organics bin?
- Pet poo and poo bags
- Fibre-based materials such as bamboo, timber, cardboard packing and cutlery, paper towels and serviettes
- Compostable or biodegradable plastic products or bags not supplied by Council
- Vacuum cleaner dust, washing machine and dryer lint
Who else is doing food and garden organics?
The NSW EPA has mandated that all Councils transition to a food and garden organics collection by 2030. Currently 61 NSW Councils have transitioned to a food and garden organics collection, including our neighbour Lake Macquarie.
Maitland and Singleton Councils will be transitioning to food and garden organics at the same time as us.
Why is Council making these changes?
The NSW Government has mandated the inclusion of food waste into the green bin collection services across all Councils in NSW by 2030.
Will I receive a kitchen caddy & compostable liners?
Yes, all households with a Council waste service will be delivered a kitchen caddy & 12 months supply of compostable liners before the changes begin. This will help you move food waste from your kitchen to your food and garden organics bin. Remember to remove any packaging or fruit stickers first!
If you wish to opt out of receiving the kitchen caddy and caddy liners for any reason, please complete the form below to be removed from the delivery list.
Request to Opt Out of kitchen caddy/liner delivery
Can I get an additional organics bin?
You can arrange an extra 240-litre organics service by filling out the form found here.
Since the contents of my green bin produces compost, can I have some?
Yes! Complimentary bags of garden organics compost are available for residents of the Cessnock LGA at Council's Compost Giveaway events throughout the year. Upon supplying proof of residency, you can receive up to two free 25-litre bags of premium compost made from 100% locally produced and processed garden organics waste.
Compost giveaway events are advertised on Council's Facebook page and on the Your Organics Bin website.
Are you dropping to fortnightly red bin collection? I’ve seen other councils doing so.
No, Council has no plans to change general waste (red bin) service. Late last year we ran a community survey to understand community preferences on subjects like general waste kerbside collections, bulk waste services and operations at the Cessnock Waste Management Centre. This feedback has helped inform our Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy, which goes on exhibition shortly. We encourage everyone to take a look and have their say.
Why change to a weekly green bin collection from 30 June if we can’t even put food scraps in them?
Good news, you’ll be able to put food scraps in your green bin from 30 June! The introduction of weekly green bins will coincide with an expansion of this collection service to include food organics. Effectively, anything you eat or grow will be able to go into your green bin!
When are the changes happening?
The changes are scheduled to commence on 30 June 2025.
How much will this cost me?
The service is included in the cost of your Domestic Waste Service. Fees and charges for FY25/26, including for Domestic Waste Services, will be detailed in our four-year Delivery Plan. The Delivery Plan is anticipated to go on public exhibition in April.
Is putting things in the wrong bin really an issue?
Contamination in your bin can be a serious problem for the wellbeing of our staff, impact on the efficiency of the service, and the quality of the final organic compost produced.
How would you know whose bin was contaminated? And are there any consequences?
Solo collection vehicles are equipped with cameras which allow the driver to monitor the contents of bins as they are being emptied. A photographic record is kept of any contamination (such as batteries or plastics in an organics bin) and the address details.
Households with severe or repeated contamination will be contacted by letter with information about how to use the service correctly to avoid future problems and bins will be inspected prior to collection.
Ongoing or severe incidents may result in the service being suspended until an agreement has been provided by the householder to use it correctly.