Bin Inspection Program

As part of Council’s community waste education program, we conduct visual inspections of mixed recycling and FOGO bins. Visual inspections of bins allows Council to provide households with feedback on their waste disposal behaviours and gather contamination data for targeted education campaigns.

Find out what goes in what bin

You may receive a ‘well done’ postcard or a five star rating bin tag, however our waste educators can only provide feedback on the items they can see in your bin.

They can’t see what’s sitting at the bottom of your bin nor do they get to see what you place in your recycling bin or FOGO bin each and every week, so it’s always good to keep up-to-date with the latest information on what can go in your bins.

Find out more about what can go in your:

You can also refer to our A-Z of waste disposal guide for further information.

Test your knowledge

Want to test your knowledge even further? Take one of our quizzes to find out if you’re a recycling champion or a FOGO star!

Recycling quiz

FOGO quiz

Your bin rating explained

We are currently trialling a new feedback tool in our recycling and FOGO bin inspections. If you have received a bin tag on your recycling or FOGO bin, you will have received a star rating of 0 to 5. Read on to understand your rating and to find out how you can improve your recycling efforts.

If you received five stars - well done! Our waste educators did not see any contamination in your recycling or FOGO bin.

If you received four stars - great job! Our waste educators only identified one wrong item in your recycling or FOGO bin.
If you received three stars our waste educators identified two to five wrong items. Please check your recycling and knowledge below by reviewing our recyclables collection page and taking our recycling or FOGO quiz.

If you received two stars or one star, our waste educators identified more than five wrong items. Please help us to recycle correctly by reviewing the information on your bin tag and familiarising yourself with accepted items on our recyclables collection webpage and FOGO webpage.

If you received a rejection postcard or sticker on your bin, your bin contained hazardous item(s). We are unable to collect your bin until the hazardous item(s) are removed. You will have received additional information on how to arrange collection of your recycling or FOGO bin. If you have not already done so, please remove the contaminating items and contact Council on 1300 88 22 33 to arrange a re-collection.

More about the bin inspection process

What is contamination?

Contamination means there’s something in the bin that doesn’t belong there.

When the wrong thing is placed in the bin it has a big impact on our collection and recycling process. Incorrect materials can damage trucks and machinery, endanger drivers and workers at the Material Recovery Facility and increases the cost to provide the service to our community.

What are the contamination rates in Maroondah?

Mixed recycling bin contamination

Maroondah has an average contamination rate in our mixed recycling bins of 12 per cent which is 5 per cent lower than the state average of 17 per cent (Victorian Government, September 2023).

Contamination of recycling leads to greater costs for Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) when sorting our recycling into different materials. This reduces their efficiency, contaminates other materials which could have been recycled, and in some cases, endangers workers and breaks machines resulting in MRFs having to close temporarily so machinery can be repaired.

The main incorrect items that go into mixed recycling bins that shouldn’t be there, are plastic bags and other soft plastics (such as food packets and wrappers), paper towel, batteries and electronic waste, textiles, tissues and containers with food or liquid in them.

Food organics garden organics bin (FOGO) contamination

Maroondah has an average contamination rate in our FOGO bins of less than one percent, which is an amazing result! This is less than the average metropolitan Melbourne Council.

The main incorrect item that goes into the FOGO bin which shouldn’t are ‘oversized’ materials, such as branches longer than 40 centimetres in length and logs which are greater than 10 centimetres in diameter.

Large items damage our trucks and take too long to turn into compost, even when using industrial composting technologies.

Other items that are incorrectly going into the FOGO bin are loose soil, rocks, treated wood, animal faeces, soft plastics, bagged garden waste, textiles and recyclable packaging.