Christmas Recycling and Waste Guide

• Friday 12 December - closing at 12.30pm
• Thursday 25 December - CLOSED
• Friday 26 December - CLOSED
• Thursday 1 January - CLOSED

The Recycling and Waste Centre is open all other days from 7.30am-3pm, 7 days a week.

We may need to close the Recycling and Waste Centre during extreme heat and weather for staff and customer safety.

Take soft plastics to the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre (free for Monash residents).

Refrigerate or freeze leftovers (or give to guests to take home).

All food scraps can go in the food and garden waste (green) bin. Only use certified compostable liners to bag your food scraps. You can buy the right liners at Council facilities.

Freeze seafood scraps, bones and prawn shells to avoid smells. Put them in the green bin the night before bin collection.

How to reduce rubbish

Warnings

Don't put excess rubbish in the green bin

Everything in your green bin is turned into compost that can be used in our Monash parks and community gardens. Anything that's not food waste and garden clippings will contaminate the compost and could result in your bin not being collected.

Don't put batteries or e-waste in any kerbside bin

Putting batteries and e-waste (any electronic items with batteries or cords) in any kerbside bin can cause fires in collection trucks and recycling facilities.

Find a safe battery drop off point near you

Low waste and budget friendly ideas

Use paper wrapping paper (without glitter, plastics or laminates) and recycle when finished.

Wrap items in creative ways, such as with newspaper, fabric or a gifted T-shirt or tea towel. Cardboard boxes can also be reused.

Reuse wrapping paper for future gifts.

Use reusable and washable plates and glasses to avoid sending disposable cutlery, plates and napkins to landfill.

Take excess recycling to the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre. Monash residents can drop off many items (like cardboard) for free!

Recycle eligible drink containers through the Container Deposit Scheme. Find refund points near you.

Flatten or tear up cardboard to create more space.

Put your recycling in loose. Don't bag it.

Warnings

Don't put excess recycling in the green bin.

Everything in your green bin is turned into compost that can be used in our reserves and community gardens.

Anything that's not food waste and garden clippings will contaminate the compost and could result in your bin not being collected.

Don't put batteries or e-waste in any kerbside bin

Putting batteries and e-waste (any electronic items with batteries or cords) in any kerbside bin can cause fires in collection trucks and recycling facilities.

Find a safe battery drop off point near you

Refrigerate or freeze leftovers (or give to guests to take home).

Repurpose leftovers in new meals.

All your food scraps can go in the food and garden waste (green) bin. Only use certified compostable liners to bag your food scraps. You can buy the right liners at Council facilities.

How to reduce food waste

Warning

• Don't put food in containers in the green bin. Tip the food out loose. If you're bagging food waste, only use certified compostable liners.

• No plastics in the green bin. Don't use plastic bags for food scraps. Monash residents can take plastic bags to the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre for free. Some supermarkets also accept soft plastics again.

Where to buy the right liners

Low waste and budget-friendly ideas

Consider home composting food scraps.

Monash residents can access a rebate on compost bins, worm farms and bokashi bins from Compost Community. Limits apply

Plan before you shop

Think about what meals you'll be making and how many people you're feeding. 

Buy what you need

Many bulk food stores let you purchase pantry staples by weight and bring your own containers. This helps reduce packaging waste and food waste.

Try searching "bulk food stores near me" to find one near you.

Freeze seafood scraps: Store prawn shells, bones, and other seafood waste in an airtight container in the freezer. Empty them loose into your green bin the night before collection.

Use bi-carb soda: Sprinkle a little in the bottom of your bin to help absorb odours.

Store bin in the shade: Keeping it cool helps slow down decomposition and reduce smells. 

Hard waste collections are paused over Christmas and New Year.

If you need a paid hard waste collection before the end of 2025, book your collection before 4pm, Monday 15 December 2025.

All paid hard waste bookings made after this date will be collected after 7 January 2026. 

Monash residents get 1 annual hard waste collection (July-September), but can also pay for an extra collection at a time that suits.

Book online

Batteries and electronic items (e-waste) should never be put in any household bin.

 They can cause fires in the waste trucks and sorting facilities.

Take household batteries or older electronic items to the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre.

Take household batteries to safe recycling points at Aldi, Woolworths, Coles and Bunnings. Collection points are also available at Monash Civic Centre and Oakleigh Service Centre. Other collection points may be available.

How to recycle batteries and e-waste

Take excess cans and bottles to Monash Recycling and Waste Centre (free for residents).

Empty food and drink bottles and cans made of plastic, glass or aluminium can also go in the kerbside recycling (yellow) bin.

Eligible drink containers can be recycled at a Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) collection point for a refund or charitable donation:

• Check CDS eligible items.
• Find CDS refund points near you.

Wrapping paper

• Put wrapping paper made of paper in the recycling (yellow) bin.
• Glitter is a microplastic. Put wrapping paper with plastics, glitter, shiny or metallic elements in the landfill (red) bin.

• Remove any ribbons or bows from any wrapping.

Christmas cards

• Musical and singing cards are e-waste and cannot go in any kerbside bin. Take to the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre.

• Put plain Christmas cards in the yellow bin.

Decorations

• Donate Christmas decorations in good condition to charity

• Dispose of broken decorations in the red bin.

Low waste and budget friendly tips

• Wrap items in creative ways, such as with newspaper, fabric or a gifted T-shirt or tea towel. Cardboard boxes can also be reused.
• Consider reusing wrapping paper for future gifts.
• Send e-cards.
• Use reusable and recyclable Christmas decorations, or decorations using natural materials.

Real Christmas trees

• Cut into small pieces and place in the food and garden waste (green) bin.
• Ensure sticks and branches are under 40cm in length.
• Take larger real trees to the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre (charges apply)

• Use the trunk as a garden feature. Explore more ideas at Gardens for Wildlife.

Fake Christmas trees

• Keep using for as many years as possible.
• Pass on fake trees in good condition to others so it can keep being used and loved instead of going to waste.

• Dispose of broken ones in the landfill (red) bin or the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre (charges apply).

Low-waste idea

Some places rent Christmas trees, which can help to avoid waste.

Foil can be put in the recycling bin (yellow lid). 

Make sure your foil is ready for recycling:

• Remove loose food scraps before placing foil trays or containers in the recycling (yellow lid) bin. Light oil residue is okay.
• Scrunch clean foil into a ball at least the size of a golf ball. This helps it stay in the recycling stream and not get lost during sorting.

Excess cardboard: Flatten and take to Monash Recycling and Waste Centre. Cardboard with some sticky tape is accepted.

Polystyrene: Take to the recycling centre (charges may apply. We can only accept clean, white, rigid polystyrene - often used for storage and packing).

Foam balls, peanuts: Must be bagged and placed in the landfill (red) bin.

Bubble wrap, plastic: Take to the recycling centre’s soft plastics collection point. Some supermarkets also accept soft plastics again.

People often think timber can be put in the green bin, but this isn't true!

Timber, sleepers and wood packaging is often treated with chemicals like pesticides or paint, which contaminate the compost.

Only small pieces of natural wood (like small branches and sticks from your garden) can go into your green bin.

To dispose of timber, take to the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre (costs apply) or store it at home for a future hard waste collection. You can also put small amounts of timber in the landfill (red-lid) bin.

Sometimes toys break over Christmas or you need to move on old toys. Here are some ideas:

Repair first: Check if a local Repair Café accepts broken toys. It’s a great way to give them a second life.

Recycle electronics: If toys are electronic and can’t be repaired, Monash residents can drop them off for free at the Monash Recycling and Waste Centre.

Donate if usable: If the toy is in good condition, consider donating it to a local charity or op shop in Monash.

Retail recycling: Selected Big W stores accept certain toys for recycling through their national program. Check in-store or online for details.

Avoid landfill where possible: Reuse, repair or recycle before tossing toys in the landfill (red-lid) bin.