Bin Health Checks
Let's get it sorted Rocky Region! Knowing how to sort your household items into the right bin increases resource recovery, builds a local circular economy and helps reach zero waste to landfill.
What is a Bin Health Check? A Bin Health Check is a simple ‘lift the lid’ visual health assessment of household bins.
How Does It Work? During a Bin Health Check, Bin Health Professionals will conduct a quick visual assessment of household bins on collection day. This involves:
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Seeing if recyclable items are placed loose and clean in the yellow lid recycling bin,
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Spotting for any contamination in the yellow lid bin, and
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Scanning for lost recyclable items in the red lid general waste bin.
After the check, households receive feedback in the form of a bin health tag on the yellow lid bin, along with helpful information and resources to help households get their recycling sorted.
No contents in the bin are touched by the Bin Health Professionals during the visual bin health assessment.
Why are Bin Health Checks important? Council's Resource Recovery Strategy sets a goal to reduce contamination in yellow lid bins from 22% to 10% by 2040.
Studies have shown that providing personalised bin behaviour feedback to households, through a bin tagging program, is an effective intervention to:
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Improve recycling quality (reduce contamination in yellow lid bins), and
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Increase quantity of recycling (improve loss of recyclables into red lid bins).
Many other Queensland Councils, including Townsville, Mackay, and Cairns Regional Councils, have successfully implemented ‘bin tagging’ programs to help improve their community’s household bin sorting habits.
Council currently has a Bin Health Check program underway which is funded by the Queensland Government’s Recycling and Jobs Fund.
For more information, visit here to go to the 2025 Bin Health Check Program page.