The waste hierarchy
The waste hierarchy is a simple guide that ranks waste actions from best to worst for the environment, with the most preferred options at the top.
It prioritises preventing waste in the first place, followed by reusing and recycling materials, with disposal including residual waste-to-energy as the last resort.
This approach helps people make smarter choices to reduce their environmental impact and keep resources in use for longer.
Globally, the waste hierarchy is widely adopted by governments, businesses and organisations to guide decision-making, ensuring that actions which prevent waste or keep materials in use are prioritised over disposal.
Which bin do I use?
Putting the right items in your green, yellow and red bins helps make sure materials are properly recovered. Garden waste can be composted, recyclables can be turned into new products, and only true waste needs to be disposed of. When the wrong items go in the wrong bin, it can contaminate entire loads, meaning more waste ends up in landfill, fewer resources are reused and costs are higher.
Hover over the pulse to see what goes inside each bin.
1
1
Grass clippings
Leaves
Small branches
Twigs
Palm fronds
Flowers
1
1
Paper
Cardboard
Glass bottles
Glass jars
Plastic bottles
Plastic containers
Steel cans
Aluminium cans
Clean pizza box
1
1
Food waste
Plastic wrap
Polystyrene
Nappies
Dirty pizza box
Banana peel
Chips
Old pen
Gold Coast City Council provides an excellent online resource, Recyclepedia, to help residents work out what which household items should be placed in their bins.
You can read more about the waste hierarchy in the Queensland Government’s Less Landfill, More Recycling 2035: Queensland Waste Strategy as well as the Commonwealth Government’s policies on Waste generation and prevention.