New 4-bin system coming in 2027

From 1 July 2027, Brimbank residents will move to a 4-bin system. This means every household will have four bins for separating waste and recycling. This will include:

•    Green lid – 140/240 litre food and garden organic waste (FOGO) bin (weekly collection)
•    Red lid – 80/140/240 litre garbage bin (weekly collection)
•    Yellow lid – 240 litre recycling bin (fortnightly collection)
•    Purple lid – 140 litre glass recycling bin (monthly collection)
 

The main changes for residents include:
•    Introduction of a new purple-lidded glass bin 
•    Roll-out of the green food organics and garden organics (FOGO) bin for all residents, expanding the current opt-in service to all households
•    Continuing to convert garbage bin lids from dark green to red to meet Australian Standards
 

The Victorian Government is standardising the way households separate waste and recycling. 

Under the Victorian Government’s mandated waste reforms, from 1 July 2027 all councils must introduce a four-bin waste and recycling service to reduce waste to landfill and improve the quality of recyclables. 

The new waste and recycling system will help get more value from our precious resources. It will significantly reduce the four million tonnes of material Victorians send to landfill each year.
 

The decision on the new four-bin service was reached at a Council meeting held on 17 February 2026. 

To help decide on the model, Council consulted industry experts and Victorian councils who have already introduced their four-bin services. 

Council also consulted with the community and key stakeholders since 2018 to ensure the new service meets local needs. This included an intensive deliberative engagement process involving a representative sample of Brimbank’s diverse community to ensure a wide range of views and preferences were considered.

The new waste and recycling service will ensure that Brimbank meets the Victorian Government-mandated requirements to transition to a four-bin service for households by 2030. 
 

• The proposed four-bin service will help divert waste from landfill and improve the quality of recyclables in Brimbank.
• Cleaner recycling means less contamination and more materials can be reused.
• Less landfill means lower emissions, more compost and recycled materials.
• Approximately 23,000 Tonnes will be saved from landfill annually.
   

Your waste charge is included in your Council rates and helps pay for waste and recycling services. This charge is reviewed each year.

The cost depends on things like how often bins are collected, how much waste is produced, and recycling and landfill fees.

The new four-bin service has been designed to keep costs affordable for residents while improving recycling and reducing waste sent to landfill. 

Under the new service:

• Households currently without a FOGO bin will pay an estimated $484.49 per year, which is $53.01 more per year than the current service.
   
• Households currently with a standard bin size and an opt-in FOGO bin will pay $3.81 more per year than they currently pay.

These costs cover all 4 bins provided to households: a garbage bin, FOGO bin, recycling bin and glass bin.

*Cost Assumptions subject to: Indexation costs, Landfill levy cost variances, achievable landfill diversion tonnages. includes new bins, communication and education, additional staff and corporate overheads.

Yes. All Victorian households will have four bins by 2030.

Each Council can adapt this service to cater specifically to their community through things like bin sizes, collection frequency and community drop-off points.
 

When glass is collected with other recycling, it often breaks and contaminates other materials like paper and cardboard. This makes recycling harder and lowers the quality of the materials. 

By collecting glass separately, more of it can be recycled properly. It can then be turned into new jars and bottles, or used in road and footpath construction.
 

The purple lidded glass bin is for glass containers like bottles and jars. 

The glass bin complements Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme, giving residents another way to recycle glass that is not currently accepted through the scheme.
 

The four-bin waste service will become the standard service for households in Brimbank. 

If you don’t have space for a glass bin, you may be able to use a glass recycling drop-off point instead. We can help residents find another option if needed. 

If you don’t have much glass, you can choose to put your glass bin out for collection every second month.
 

Approximately 50 per cent of household waste is food. This food waste is currently being sent to landfill. 

When food breaks down in landfill it produces methane, a harmful greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change. When food is added to your green waste bin, it will be processed and turned into nutrient rich compost. This compost will be used to enrich soil on farms, parks and gardens
 

Kitchen caddies will be available to help you manage food scraps. Emptying your caddy into your food and garden organics bin each day will help prevent smells and mess.

There are some easy ways to reduce smells and pests:

•    Keep your food and garden organics bin in a shaded, well-ventilated area (e.g., in the carport, under your house eaves or a tree)
•    Keep the lid of your food and garden organics bin closed when not in use.
•    Put your food and garden organics bin out for every collection even if it’s not full
•    Cover food scraps with garden waste
•    Clean your bin regularly using baking soda, a squeeze of lemon juice or eucalyptus oil.
•    Spray lavender or mint oil near the base of your bins to help deter rodents.
 

You can keep using your compost bin or work farm. The food and garden organics bin is here to support home composting. Any food you can’t t compost (such as meat, seafood, bones or citrus) can be put in your food and garden organics bin.

No. Shared bins will be provided for residents in these locations. 

If you live in an apartment, townhouse, unit or flat where space is limited, you will usually use shared bins. Properties with shared bins pay a lower waste charge.

Council will work with residents at properties with shared bins to decide the best number and type of bins for each property. This may mean sharing some or all bins with others
 

Yes, Council will provide a detailed guide closer to the rollout of the new service, explaining exactly what goes in each bin. A community education campaign will also support residents in sorting correctly.

Council will run a comprehensive education campaign to help households through the transition.

Residents will also receive detailed guides before the roll-out to outline the changes and help answer questions about the bin use and collection schedules.