General rubbish bin - red lid

Your general rubbish bin (red lid) is collected fortnightly.

The average bin in Murrindindi Shire is 85% full on collection day for the current weekly collection. Over 60% of the volume currently disposed in the bin with the red lid can be diverted to be recycled – 36% can go into an organics bin (mostly food refuse), 22% can go into the mixed recycling bin and 2% can go in the glass bin.

When the food and garden organics, recycling and glass bins are used correctly, the average household in Murrindindi Shire will have more than enough space in their general garbage bin to hold a fortnight worth of refuse.

Our neighbours in Strathbogie Shire have had a fortnightly rubbish collection (alongside a food and garden refuse collection) for 10 years, and report that the volume provided by a 120L collection per fortnight is more than adequate.

The majority of councils in Victoria are planning to or have already moved to fortnightly rubbish collection services.

To help reduce pressure on the red bin, we encourage residents to divert refuse into the correct recycling streams – it takes practice, but small changes can make a big difference.

Here are a few key reminders:

• Use the green-lid Food and Garden Organics bin for all compostable food and garden refuse
  (Note: food and garden organics are no longer accepted in the red bin)
• Use the yellow-lid mixed recycling bin for accepted recyclables – keep items loose, not in bags
• Place glass bottles and jars in the purple-lid glass bin
• Soft plastics and mixed packaging should go in the red bin unless you are part of a subscription-based recycling scheme like Soft Plastics Stewardship Australia

To reduce packaging refuse at home:

• Choose unpackaged or bulk items
• Bring your own bags, containers for takeaway or deli items
• Use reusable wraps and containers
• Cook at home to avoid excess packaging
• Grow your own food if space allows
• Seek ways to avoid soft plastic wrapping

The average odour rating does not vary from a weekly red bin collection to a fortnightly red bin collection containing nappies. This was demonstrated in a Community Nappy Trial carried out by Lake Macquarie City Council (NSW) They also found that: 

• a 120L bin can contain 150 soiled nappies.
• the average household with one person in nappies generates about 30 soiled nappies per week (60 per fortnight).
• the average household with two people in nappies generates just over 50 per week (100 per fortnight), and the average household with three people in nappies generates about 70 per week (140 per fortnight). However, the number of soiled nappies put in the household bin will vary depending on the proportion of time the user spends at home and/or in care.

You can reduce odours by:

• placing nappies in a plastic bag, and ensuring it is tied off
• wrapping nappies tightly in on themselves, securing them with the tags
• when possible, flushing the soiled contents of the nappy down the toilet, before placing the nappy in a plastic bag then in the bin
• keeping your bin in a shady spot if possible

To keep costs low and still introduce a weekly food and garden organics collection, it is necessary to reduce the frequency of collection of the general rubbish bin (which will also have much less material in it).

A kerbside bin audit in Murrindindi Shire identified that 60% of refuse in the general rubbish bin (red lid) could be diverted to be recycled in either the food or garden (green lid) bin (36%), the mixed recycling (yellow lid) bin (22%) or the glass bin (purple lid) (2%)
Diverting recyclable refuse into the other bins will help to provide more space in your general rubbish bin (red lid), allowing it to be collected less frequently.

Reducing the collection frequency for the general rubbish bin reduces the cost of collection since there will be fewer trucks on the road for less time. Diverting refuse to be recycled further reduces disposal costs since the rate per tonne to recycle refuse is around a third of the rate per tonne to dispose of refuse in landfill.

Reductions in the cost of the refuse collection are offset against the cost of introducing the organics collection.

Reducing the amount of food and garden material in the refuse stream is important because food scraps and garden refuse are valuable resources that can be recycled into high-quality compost, while at the same time preventing the environmental degradation caused by decomposing food in landfill.

Murrindindi Shire Council is not the first council to make the switch to fortnightly.

More than 17 other Victorian councils have already successfully made the bin collection switch, including our nearby neighbours Macedon Ranges and Strathbogie Shires. Mitchell Shire made the switch in March 2025.

Households with people with medical conditions that result in higher volumes of rubbish generation can apply to have an additional (120L) rubbish disposal service. Applications in writing need to be accompanied by a medical certificate or letter from a registered medical practitioner outlining the need.

The Medical Exemption will be valid for up to two (2) years, aligned with the financial year at the end of year two. A new medical certificate or letter from a registered medical practitioner will be required to continue the service, valid for two (2) years at a time.