Sydney’s rubbish goes on the kerb by rules that change at the council line
Every council runs its own kerbside clean-up: booked or on set dates, with its own limit and its own list of what it will not take. The map is the whole city at once, and the band under it is the part that is the same in every council.
- Booked
- Set dates
- Both
- A year
Outline: check the council’s own page, through the Office of Local Government’s council directory.
General information only. Clean-up rules are set by each council and can change; check your council’s own page before you put anything out.
Outline: check the council’s own page, through the Office of Local Government’s council directory.
General information only. Clean-up rules are set by each council and can change; check your council’s own page before you put anything out.
The state rules
- The 50 litre line. The NSW EPA’s illegal dumping laws and penalties page says a person who puts more than 50 litres or 50 kilograms of waste or litter onto a public place or onto an open private place commits the offence of illegal dumping, which the state’s Protection of the Environment Operations Act 1997 sets out in section 144AE, and that the on-the-spot fines and maximum penalties are higher where the place is a sensitive one.
- Asbestos never goes out for a clean-up, in any council. The NSW EPA says the law forbids asbestos waste in any of your kerbside bins, and that the only lawful destination for it is a landfill licensed to accept it; Hornsby Council’s page adds that asbestos cannot be placed out for bulky waste collection. Asbestos fibres are dangerous when the material is damaged or worked on, so the advice is to leave it where it is and use a licensed removalist; the Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency says it is not recommended that you handle or remove asbestos yourself. In NSW, unlicensed removal is legal in your own home, but only for non-friable material under 10 square metres: the state government says any friable material, and anything larger, needs a licensed removalist. A home owner who does that small job must follow the same strict precautions as a licensed removalist, from the start of the job to the end. The NSW EPA sets the same limits for a contractor. If the material might contain asbestos, treat it as if it does: stop work, clear the site and get help, and never wash it with a high-pressure hose or use anything abrasive on it, such as scrubbing, sanding or grinding, since that can spread contamination widely and leave you with a costly clean-up. Queensland’s asbestos site says not to saw, sand, scrape or drill holes in asbestos materials. The Asbestos and Silica Safety and Eradication Agency’s page for householders sets out the precautions, and the NSW EPA’s dealing with household asbestos page is the state’s own guide.
- The duty stays with the owner. Section 143 of the POEO Act requires a load of waste to end up somewhere that may lawfully take it, and the NSW EPA’s transporting waste page says the waste’s owner, the vehicle’s owner and the transporter can each be found guilty of an offence when it does not.
Council clean-ups
The register below runs alphabetically, one row per council, and each row’s Source column links the council’s own page. The 33 local government areas are the ones the NSW Government’s The Sydney Plan covers. Where a council’s page does not state a detail, the row says so and sends you to that page rather than to a guess.
| Council | Book or set dates | A year | Limit | Not collected | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bayside | Set dates | 4 | Up to 3 m³ | Tyres; the council’s waste guide lists the rest | Bayside page |
| Blacktown | Booked | 12 | One box-trailer load (2 m × 1 m × 1 m) | Paint, oils, chemicals, gas cylinders, car batteries, tyres, asbestos, building materials, glass and mirrors | Blacktown page |
| Blue MountainsEach of the two can be a kerbside pick-up or a drop-off at the council’s facility. | Booked | 2 | Up to 4 m³ | See its page | Blue Mountains page |
| BurwoodEach residential rated property gets two free a year: one on a date the council sets, one you book. | Both | 2 | 1.5 m³ | Building and renovation material, asbestos, chemicals, paint, oils, batteries, gas bottles, car parts, tyres and e-waste | Burwood page |
| Camden | Booked | 3 | 3 m³, or 6 m³ as a double | Anything two people cannot lift or longer than 2 m; batteries must be taken out first | Camden page |
| Campbelltown | Booked | 4 | 2 m³, or 4 m³ as a double | Car batteries, car parts, tyres, chemicals, polystyrene, paint, oils, batteries and gas bottles | Campbelltown page |
| Canada BayLarge apartment blocks get scheduled collections instead. | Booked | 4 | 2 m³ | Paint, gas bottles, batteries, light globes, asbestos, fibro, car parts and tyres | Canada Bay page |
| Canterbury-Bankstown | Booked | 2 | 3 m³ | Asbestos, batteries, paint and empty paint cans, garden, pool and cleaning chemicals, car parts, tyres and building waste | Canterbury-Bankstown page |
| City of Sydney | Booked | Weekly | 1 m³ for a house | Car parts, tyres, car batteries, household chemicals, paint, gas bottles, building material, and items over 1.5 m or 100 kg | City of Sydney page |
| Cumberland | Booked | 4 | 2 m³ | Asbestos, car parts and batteries, tyres, paint, batteries, light bulbs, gas bottles and e-waste | Cumberland page |
| Fairfield | Booked | 4 | 2 m³ | Paint, chemicals, oils, gas bottles, vapes, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers, batteries, car parts, tyres, asbestos, building waste and solar panels | Fairfield page |
| Georges River | Booked | 2 | 3 m³ | See its page | Georges River page |
| Hawkesbury | Booked | 1 | 2 m³ | Liquid and hazardous waste, construction waste, and items longer than 2 m | Hawkesbury page |
| Hornsby | Set dates | 2 | 3 m³ | TVs, computers, asbestos, fibro, paint, gas bottles and other hazardous waste, building waste, car parts, batteries, tyres and garden waste | Hornsby page |
| Hunters Hill | Booked | 4 | 3 m³ | Gas cylinders, batteries, chemicals, paint, oils, TVs, computers, car parts, tyres and building waste | Hunters Hill page |
| Inner West | Booked | See its page | 2 m³ | See its page | Inner West page |
| Ku-ring-gai | Booked | 4 | 3 m³ | Building waste, paint, chemicals, gas bottles, and solar panels with their batteries | Ku-ring-gai page |
| Lane Cove | Booked | 4 | 3 m³ | Paint, chemicals, car batteries, gas cylinders, car parts, tyres and building materials | Lane Cove page |
| Liverpool | Booked | 4 | 2 m³ | See its page | Liverpool page |
| MosmanThe council calls its free clean-up bi-annual. | See its page | See its page | 5 m³ | Building materials, chemicals and e-waste | Mosman page |
| North SydneyNorth Sydney Council collects every second Monday. | Booked | See its page | 2 m³ for a house | E-waste, liquid waste, paint, car parts, tyres, building waste and garden waste | North Sydney page |
| Northern BeachesWestern Foreshore and Scotland Island households get two scheduled collections a year. | Booked | 2 | 3 m³ | Hazardous waste, gas bottles, chemicals, paint, batteries, building material, asbestos, TVs, computers, car parts, tyres and oils | Northern Beaches page |
| ParramattaDepending on your address: pre-booked, up to four times a calendar year, or at times the council schedules during the year. | Both | See its page | Under 2 m³ (booked) | See its page | Parramatta page |
| Penrith | Booked | 4 | 2 m³ | Batteries of any kind, chemicals, gas bottles, paint, building waste, plate glass and mirrors | Penrith page |
| RandwickOne scheduled and five booked. | Both | 6 | 2 m³ | See its page | Randwick page |
| Ryde | Booked | 5 | 1.5 m³ | See its page | Ryde page |
| Strathfield | Booked | 3 | 2 m³ | Household chemicals such as paint, poisons, gas bottles and fire extinguishers, and e-waste | Strathfield page |
| Sutherland | Booked | 2 | 3 m³ | TVs, computers, chemicals, paint, oils, batteries, items with batteries, building materials, asbestos, car parts and tyres | Sutherland page |
| The Hills | Booked | 2 | See its page | Chemicals, gas bottles, oils, paint, asbestos, batteries, building materials, car parts, mirrors and glass | The Hills page |
| WaverleyTwo booked and one scheduled. | Both | 3 | 2 m³ | Batteries, items with batteries or motors, paint, oils, gas cylinders, building materials, asbestos and car parts | Waverley page |
| WilloughbyOne booked and three scheduled. | Both | 4 | 2 m³ on set dates | See its page | Willoughby page |
| Wollondilly | Booked | 2 | 1.5 m³ each, or one 3 m³ collection | Building waste, asbestos, chemicals, paint, gas bottles, batteries, tyres and electronics | Wollondilly page |
| Woollahra | Set dates | See its page | One ute load | Items with batteries in them | Woollahra page |
Guides
Changes at the council line
- When is my council’s kerbside clean-up, and what will it take?
One register for the whole city: booked or set dates, how often the service comes, the limit, what is refused, and when items may go out.
- Where do I take paint, gas bottles, batteries and chemicals in Sydney?
A Household Chemical CleanOut event or a Community Recycling Centre, compared, with the EPA’s Sydney dates left in 2026 and where batteries, gas bottles and paint go.
- What do I do with an old TV, computer or phone?
Old phones, televisions and computers, each with its own drop-off route, and the councils that run their own e-waste days.
The same in every council
- Is it illegal to leave rubbish on the footpath in Sydney?
One pile on the kerb, read twice: with a clean-up booking, and without one, against the NSW law that applies in every council.
- How do I get rid of asbestos or fibro from my home?
Why no kerbside clean-up will take it, the Sydney landfills licensed to take it, and the form for a load you carry there yourself.
- If I pay someone to take my rubbish, who is responsible for where it goes?
The owner’s duty under NSW law, followed from a cheap quote to the disposal receipt.