What can I put in my bins?

Soft Plastics

Plastic bags should never go into your yellow lid recycling bin. Plastic bags and other soft plastics get caught in the machinery at the recycling facility, causing the machines to stop. Therefore, if your recycling is placed in a plastic bag, the entire bag will go to landfill – it will not be emptied.

Soft plastics can be taken to our Community Recycling Centre in Thornleigh, where they will be collected by REDcycle for recycling. Most major supermarkets also accept soft plastics for recycling.

The following items CAN go in the red lid garbage bin:

Plastic bags and soft plastic packaging
Disposable coffee cups and lids
Non-recyclable packaging, eg polystyrene
Food scraps, bones and meats
Nappies
Shredded paper
Small household items
Old clothes
Old toys and teddies
Small electrical appliances

The following items MUST NOT be put in the red lid garbage bin:

Hazardous materials, chemicals, gas bottles or fire extinguishers
Soil and rocks
Car batteries
Hot ash
Liquid wastes including paints or oils
Building materials
Recyclable items
Green waste

The following items CAN go in the yellow lid recycling bin:

Glass bottles and jars
Newspapers, books, magazines, junk mail and cardboard
Milk and juice cartons including tetra packs
Aluminium cans and clean foil
Steel cans, aerosol cans
All disposable plastic containers and bottles used in the kitchen, bathroom or laundry including food, beverage, shampoo and detergent containers, household cleaners
Used pizza boxes that don’t have any food in them
Rinsed takeaway containers

The following items MUST NOT be put in the yellow lid recycling bin:

Plastic bags
Styrofoam
Garden clippings
Food scraps
Window glass, mirrors, ceramics and Pyrex
Scrap metal and appliances
Waxed cardboard, eg disposable coffee cups
Nappies
Medical waste including syringes in drink containers
Shredded paper
Plastic garden pots

The following items CAN go in the green lid green waste bin:

Grass clippings
Flowers and weeds
Prunings
Leaf litter
Twigs and small branches (up to 75mm in diameter)

The following items MUST NOT be put in the green lid green waste bin:

Toxic Materials

Items such as batteries, light globes, mobile phones and ink cartridges contain chemicals that are harmful to the environment and should not be placed in any of your bins. These items can be dropped off to our Community Recycling Centre.

List of battery collection points

Council Administration Building
(small houseshold batteries only)
296 Pacific Highway, Hornsby
Phone (02) 9847 6666
Monday to Friday, 8.30am-4.30pm

Thornleigh Community Recycling Centre
29 Sefton Road Thornleigh
Phone (02) 9847 4856
Tuesday to Friday, 8.30am-4pm; Saturday 8.30am-12pm Closed Public Holidays.

Hornsby Library
28-44 George Street (Entrance in Hunter Lane), Hornsby
Phone (02) 9847 6813
Normal Library operating hours

Berowra Branch Library
Community Centre,The Gully Road, Berowra
Phone (02) 9847 6140
Normal Library operating hours

Galston Branch Library
357 Galston Road, Galston
Phone (02) 9847 6160
Normal Library operating hours

Pennant Hills Branch Library
Corner Ramsay and Yarrara Roads, Pennant Hills
Phone (02) 9847 6100
Normal Library operating hours

Battery World Hornsby
Shop 3, 86 George Street, Hornsby
Phone (02) 9987 1877
Monday to Friday, 8am-5.30pm, Saturday 8am-5pm

All ALDI supermarket locations

For more information visit cleanup.org.au

These can be flammable and should not be placed in any of your garbage bins. Instead they should be taken to the EPA Chemical CleanOut Day

Your nearest Waste Management Centre may accept chemicals for a fee. For more information visit the SUEZ or phone 1300 651 116

Find Out More

Thornleigh Community Recycling Centre29 Sefton Rd, Thornleigh
Tuesday to Fridays, 8.30am-4pm
Saturdays, 8.30am-12pm

Waste Management Centres

Hornsby Shire Council does not own or operate any waste management centres, transfer stations, tips or landfills. However, there are a number of nearby facilities that can help you dispose of your waste. We recommend direct contact be made with the centre to check opening times, costs and accepted materials.

SUEZ Artarmon Resource Recovery Centre Lanceley Place, Artarmon

SUEZ Belrose Resource Recovery Centre Crozier Rd, Belrose

SUEZ Ryde Resource Recovery Centre Wicks Road, North Ryde

SUEZ Seven Hills Resource Recovery Centre Powers Road, Seven Hills

Kimbriki Environmental Enterprises Pty Ltd
Kimbriki Road, Terry Hills/ Ingleside

Further information

See our A - Z Waste and Recycling Guide. If you are unable to find information about the item you want to dispose of, visit the Recycling Near You website.

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Facility Updates

29 January 2021 – It is now mandatory to sign in on the NSW Government COVID Safe QR Code app each time you visit our facilities.

In accordance with NSW Health’s Public Health Orders, as of midnight Friday 29 January 2021, face masks are strongly recommended for patrons attending Council's libraries and the Customer Service desks at Council Chambers and the Waste Management facility in Thornleigh. If you do not have a face mask, our friendly team will supply you with one free of charge. Patrons attending Hornsby Shire Aquatic & Leisure Centres and the Thornleigh Brickpit are not required to wear a mask. Further information is available on the NSW Health website here.