Bin Sticker Program

Our Waste Education Officers will make a quick visual assessment of the contents of your bins on the verge before collection on bin day. They do not rummage or tip out the contents of the bins.

On the first week, they will put a sticker on the yellow bin lid, which lists the five items that can be recycled.

We also collect data about contamination, which helps us educate the community.

The community is sometimes unsure about what goes in each bin, and what materials are recyclable. By putting stickers on bins, we are helping to clarify misconceptions and answer questions the community may have.

The project is trial to find out whether bin stickers help reduce contamination and encourage better waste management. Reducing contamination in bins decreases waste service costs and is good for the environment.

When checking bins, our Waste Education Officers look for contaminants and an overview of how the household is sorting waste. They also identify if the bins are overflowing or if hazardous waste was found.

The project focuses on education rather than enforcement.

No, the project is an education program.

Once on the verge, your bins and their contents become City of Canning property. The Waste Education Officers are City of Canning staff and are authorised to look in the bins. They won’t rummage through your bin - they only look at the content sitting at the top.

The Waste Education Officers collect data about contamination in the kerbside bins. This information will help create education programs targeted at the common contaminants found.

We use the data on a community level rather than individually, and we don’t publish any identifying data.

The project runs for six weeks. The Waste Education Officers will inspect kerbside bins every fortnight when the recycling bin is presented on the verge for collection.

The Strategic Waste team chooses areas at random.

No, the project is part of the City’s pre-existing waste education program.

Putting the right thing in the right bin reduces contamination, which helps save the City money on disposal and contamination fees.

Recyclables that are put in plastic bags won’t be recycled. For staff safety, bags are not opened or emptied at the sorting facility. Recyclables in plastic bags are pulled from the conveyor and sent to landfill.

Soft plastics are very common packaging. They include items such as:

• crisp bags
• lolly wrappers
• bread bags
• shopping bags
• produce bags
• bubble wrap
• parcel bags.

These are not recyclable through your recycling bin. When collected, they wrap and tangle around machinery at the Material Recovery Facility. This causes a full stop of the operations to clear it up.

Soft plastics contaminate paper and cardboard, which reduces its value and recyclability.

Please place your soft plastics in your general waste bin.