Contamination is what turns a recycling bin back into expensive general waste. Here is the plain guide to what belongs in each stream, what does not, and the items that trip businesses up most.
Most contamination is not laziness, it is uncertainty. Staff are not sure whether the coffee cup, the cling film or the takeaway container goes in recycling, so they guess, and a wrong guess can get a whole bin rejected and charged as general waste. The fix is a clear, simple rule for each stream that everyone can follow without thinking.
Here is the plain version of what belongs in each bin, what does not, and the items that catch businesses out most.
The commingled recycling bin, the one with the yellow lid in most systems, takes clean, dry, empty containers and paper products:
The golden rule is clean, dry and loose. Empty the container, do not bag the recycling, and keep food and liquid out.
What does not belong:
The organics stream takes compostable material. For a business this is overwhelmingly food waste:
A distinction worth keeping straight: household FOGO bins take food organics and garden organics together. For a business, the relevant stream is food organics, and in New South Wales the largest businesses have been required to separate it since 1 July 2026. Garden waste is rarely the issue in a commercial kitchen.
What does not belong in organics:
Contamination is the thing that gets an organics load rejected, so food only is the rule.
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Get your exact priceIf your business moves stock, cardboard is your highest-volume recyclable, and it is worth its own bin. Clean, flattened cardboard kept out of general waste avoids the landfill levy, and since mixed and unsorted paper and cardboard were banned from export in 2024, clean material is in demand from onshore reprocessors. Flatten boxes so you are not paying to collect air, and keep them dry.
Glass is being separated out in more systems because it breaks and contaminates paper and cardboard when mixed. Victoria is moving households to a separate purple-lid glass bin. For a business, check whether your provider takes glass in commingled recycling or wants it separate, and remember that eligible drink containers also carry a 10 cent refund under the container deposit scheme.
A contaminated recycling or organics bin can be downgraded and charged as general waste, which means you pay the landfill levy on a bin you set up to avoid it. Getting the streams right is not just good practice, it protects the saving you separated the bins to get in the first place. Clear signage and a short staff briefing do most of the work.
Accepted items vary by council and by provider, and they change over time, particularly for glass and compostable packaging. Use this as a general guide and confirm the exact accepted list with your own provider or council before you finalise your signage.
Can soft plastics go in the recycling bin? No. Soft plastics like bags, cling film and chip packets do not go in kerbside or commingled recycling, and they have no consistent national kerbside pathway. The in-store collection points being rebuilt are uneven, so for now most soft plastics go to general waste.
What is the difference between FOGO and a business food-organics bin? Household FOGO combines food and garden organics. A business food-organics bin takes food waste only, kept separate from general waste. In New South Wales the largest businesses have been required to separate food organics since 1 July 2026.
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Related: commercial bin hire, cardboard recycling bins, organics bins
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Clean, dry, empty cans, bottles, rigid plastic containers with a recycling marking, paper and flattened cardboard. Keep soft plastics, coffee cups, food and liquid out, and do not bag the recycling.
A recycling or organics bin with the wrong material in it can be rejected and charged as general waste, so you pay the landfill levy on a bin you set up to avoid it. Clear signage and a staff briefing keep the streams clean.
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