Bin Collection

With the introduction of weekly FOGO bins, collection of red-lidded general rubbish bins will change to fortnightly (alternating with yellow recycling bins). The additional bin (which is 240L) provides extra capacity, so there is no reduction in service. It is important each household sorts their waste efficiently to get the best use out of their bins.

Recent bin audits across Wellington Shire indicated food waste and garden organics make up more than half of the contents of the average household general rubbish bin, while material that could have been sorted into the commingled recycling bin make up a further 15%. The rest is made up of items that can’t be placed into the commingled recycling bin, and that create less odour than food and garden organics. This data is also consistent with the Victorian average.

The data also showed more than half of the general rubbish bins surveyed were more than 50% empty - again, consistent with the Victorian average.

Additionally, about 80% of Wellington Shire households have three or less occupants, so the system was designed in mind knowing the majority of households could be easily serviced by a fortnightly general rubbish collection.

The addition of FOGO to Council's standard waste service means 240L of extra capacity per week for food organics and garden organics, so there is no loss of capacity.

Continuing to offer weekly general rubbish collection dramatically increases existing waste costs for every single ratepayer, even though the data shows most households don’t need it. Reducing how much goes to landfill helps bring waste costs down and can slow pressure on household waste charges over time.

Other councils in Gippsland, including Baw Baw and South Gippsland, are moving to a similar system to us here at Wellington. Bass Coast has had it in place for many years. In fact, as of May 2026, 30 other Victorian councils (including regional ones) use this system successfully, with more intending to implement the same changes.

We understand some households may struggle with a fortnightly landfill service. Residents can order an additional bin service (landfill, recycling or FOGO) to cater for those that may generate more waste.

What is an RFID Tag?

RFID tags, like barcodes, are a smart label that stores a serial number and can be read by a RFID reader without a direct line of sight.

The only information stored on the tag is a unique serial number. This serial number contains no personal information until it is linked to property owners ssessments numbers within councils secure data systems.

Can anyone read the RFID tag?

Anyone with an RFID reader will be able to scan your bin, however the only information they will receive is the unique serial number. This serial number is also stamped onto the side of the bin.

The RFID tag on your bin will help council manage waste collection efficiently and securely:

The RFID tag will allow garbage trucks to automatically record when and where your bin is emptied. This makes the collection process quicker and more accurate.

Council may collect data on:

• The serial number of your bin

• The date it was emptied

• The weight of the bin

• Its GPS location (based on the location of the truck)

This helps the Council understand waste and recycling patterns to improve services.

Registering bins to specific properties also helps reduce theft, ensuring bins stay with the correct households.

The RFID tag only contains a serial number. Personal information is stored securely and is only connected to the bin data within Council’s secure database. Your privacy is a top priority. For more details, please refer to Council's Privacy Statement.

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During the amalgamation of the Shire of Alberton, Shire of Avon, Shire of Maffra and City of Sale and parts of the Shire of Rosedale in 1994, some properties retained their right to a bin collection service due to the differing policies for each Shire area.

Due to the size of the Wellington Shire, the cost of provision of bin collection services to all households and farms is financially unviable. As such, bin collection is reserved for areas where health and amenity impacts are of greatest concern, particularly where population densities are higher.

General waste (small 120L bin) is transported to the Kilmany Landfill, which is highly engineered to meet Environmental Protection standards that are regulated by law.  

Wellington Shire’s recycling is transported to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Morwell where it is sorted and then sent to be recycled.

For more on recycling, check out this video:

• Grass and lawn clippings

• Leaves and weeds

• Flowers and plants

• Twigs, sticks, branches and other garden prunings

• Vegetable waste from the garden

• Hay, straw, mulch or compost

• Fruit and vegetables including raw and cooked vegetables and peelings

• Leftovers, expired or mouldy food

• Loose leaf tea, coffee grounds, coffee filter paper

• Raw and cooked meat and seafood

• Bones from meat and seafood (raw or cooked);

• Dairy products (e.g. cheese, yoghurt);

• Eggs and eggshells;

• Rice, pasta and beans;

• Cereals and grains;

• Nuts and seeds;

• Lollies, chocolates and jellies;

• Baked goods (e.g. bread, cakes and pastries)

If you’re worried about smells, all your FOGO bin needs is an occasional rinse and reset. Every couple of months, give it a quick hose out, a scrub and then let it air-dry upside down. In the warmer months, keep it in the shade to keep any smells to a minimum. If there’s something particularly smelly to add (like prawn heads or a chicken carcass), freeze it and add it to the bin the night before bin day.

Your new kitchen caddy is dishwasher-friendly. Line it with the Council supplied compostable liners, a little paper towel or some newspaper, or skip the liner altogether. A quick rinse each time you empty it, a sprinkle of bi carb soda and a weekly trip through the dishwasher will keep things fresh.

For more information, check out our FOGO page.

Place your recyclables loose in your bin - do not put them in plastic bags. Empty or scrape out containers to avoid contamination and flatten boxes and cans to save room. You do not need to rinse or remove labels. Your 240-litre yellow-lidded bin should be used for the following:

• Steel and aluminium cans (Including empty aerosol cans)  

• Glass bottles and jars

• Plastics printed with Recycle Codes 1 to 7 (No polystyrene foam)

• Cardboard and paper (No waxed board or tetra packs eg. Longlife milk, fruit boxes)

• Aluminium foil and trays (foil scrunched into ball no smaller than cricket ball)

You can now take your eligible drink containers (cans, plastic bottles etc.) to a Container Deposit Scheme refund point to claim 10 cents per container. For more, see Victoria’s Container Deposit Scheme.

Want to know more about how we recycle in Wellington?

This video was filmed in 2022. The kerbside collection contractor has since changed to Cleanaway Gippsland. If you have any enquiries about your recycling bin collection service, phone Cleanaway on (03) 5133 6872.

Bag your rubbish to help keep your bin clean and avoid bad smells. Use your red-lidded 120-litre bin for all household rubbish that you cannot put in your kerbside recycle bin such as:

• Plastic bags (eg. shopping, garbage and bread bags)

• Broken crockery

• Window or mirror glass (wrapped)

• Disposable nappies

• Polystyrene

• Clingwrap and plastic wrapping

• Disposable gloves

• Plastics with no recycle code number

• Food scraps - Preferably, food scraps can be recycled through composting or worm farming.

E-waste including light globes, batteries or anything with a battery or cord cannot be placed in the landfill bin.