Managing waste is an ongoing challenge for communities across Australia. The City of Melbourne’s Waste and Resource Recovery Strategy 2030 sets an ambitious goal of becoming a zero waste city by 2030.
Each year, City of Melbourne households send around 29,000 tonnes of waste to landfill. That is roughly the same weight as 4,800 African elephants, or enough rubbish to fill more than 1,500 garbage trucks. The cost of transporting and disposing of this waste continues to rise, which also affects costs for ratepayers.
Contamination is also a major issue in household recycling bins. Around 20% of what is placed in our mixed recycling bins is contamination — items that should not be there. Reducing this contamination will help ensure recyclable materials are actually recycled and make our recycling systems more efficient.
Your feedback will help ensure we provide the right information at the right time to assist our residents to use their waste and recycling services correctly, and any future changes to services are informed by feedback from our residents.
Working together for a better outcome
While Council plays a key role in managing waste, we cannot do it alone. Your input helps us plan better services and programs that meet community needs.
Reducing waste and recycling correctly will help to:
- conserve natural resources and limit environmental damage
- prevent waste from overflowing landfills and polluting rivers and oceans
- cut greenhouse gas emissions.
By understanding how residents currently use our waste services, we can design a system that is cost-effective, efficient, and better for the environment.
Our targets
The Victorian Government has set a target to divert 80% of waste from landfill by 2030. Diversion from landfill means reducing the amount of waste sent to landfill by recovering materials that can be reused, recycled, or composted. For example, when glass bottles are placed in a recycling bin, they can be melted down and turned into new bottles and jars instead of being buried in landfill. This helps reduce pollution and conserve natural resources.
Currently, City of Melbourne households recycle and compost around 28.5% of their total waste.
In 2026, we will update our Waste and Recycling Strategy, and insights from this survey will help shape the direction of that plan. We will also share the findings with the community and provide an update on how your feedback has informed the next stage of planning.
What is the waste and recycling survey?
We’ve released our waste and recycling survey 2025 as part of our commitment to reducing waste across the City of Melbourne. The survey specifically focuses on residential waste and recycling, and is your opportunity to tell us what matters to you when it comes to household waste and recycling in our municipality.
Why release a waste and recycling survey?
As our population grows, now more than ever we need to get smarter about how much we consume, and how we can direct more waste to sustainable services like recycling and food and garden organics.
We want to understand what people think about our current waste and recycling services, and what improvements would best support the community to reduce waste and increase recycling.
Are there any planned changes to household waste and recycling services coming soon that will be impacted by this survey?
The Victorian Government’s Circular Economy (Waste Reduction and Recycling) Act 2021 requires all councils to introduce a standard four-bin recycling system and meet new waste diversion targets.
Your feedback will help guide how the City of Melbourne meets these requirements in a way that works best for our community. We will provide further information about any changes to waste and recycling services when it becomes available.
Who can participate in the survey?
All voices count! We want feedback from as many people as possible – anyone who lives in our municipality and has their household waste collected by City of Melbourne can participate in the survey.
Why should I take part?
Your feedback will help shape how waste and recycling services are planned and delivered across the City of Melbourne. Everyone who completes the survey can go into the draw to win one of ten $100 Coles Mastercard gift cards.
How long will they survey take?
The survey takes around 15–20 minutes to complete.
Will my answers be confidential?
Yes. All responses are confidential and anonymous. Your feedback will be combined with others and used to inform waste and recycling strategies, community education, and service planning.
How can I stay updated on this project?
Click ‘Follow’ at the top of the project page on Participate Melbourne to receive updates and be notified when results are available.
Cardboard bin:
General rubbish bin:
Mixed recycling bin:
Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bin:
Mixed recycling bin:
General rubbish bin:
