Recycling bin

Your recycling bin is collected fortnightly on the alternate week to your garbage bin. 

Hunter Resource Recovery provides the recycling service for Lake Macquarie City Council, and is an initiative of Cessnock, Lake Macquarie, Maitland and Singleton councils.

Online services

Upsize your recycling bin

You can swap your existing 240L recycling bin for a larger 360L bin for a small fee, payable by credit card, by calling our Customer Service Centre on 4921 0333 or submitting an application online. 

Your recycling bin will be swapped on your regular recycling day. Please leave your recycling bin on the kerb until 6pm after it is emptied so it can be swapped over. It may take up to eight weeks after your application is received for your bin to be swapped.

The weight limit of the 360L bin is 80kg, the same as the standard 240L bin. This limit generally doesn't cause an issue, unless your bin is filled with large amounts of paper or glass.

Upsize your recycling bin

Check your collection day

Find out your fortnightly recycling bin collection day online or by calling Hunter Resource Recovery on 1800 838 884

Frequently asked questions

If your bin is missed or damaged, please call Hunter Resource Recovery on 1800 838 884 within two working days.

Extra 240L or 360L recycling services are available for a fee, payable via your property rates. You can order an additional service online or call us on 4921 0333.

Do it online

Your recycling bin is owned by our waste contractor, Hunter Resource Recovery, and must remain at the property if you move house. 

You can organise a recycling service for your new property online or call us on 4921 0333.

Do it online

As our recycling service providers, Hunter Resource Recovery host an A-Z guide on their website. The comprehensive list includes all the items that can be placed in your yellow lid recycling bin. They also have a helpful search bar if you need to look-up if a particular item can be recycled. 

What can be recycled?

If unaccepted items, or contamination, are placed in your recycling bin, it may not be emptied. All recycling trucks have on-board cameras and drivers may place a sticker on your bin to advise why it was not emptied. Your recycling bin will be emptied on the next collection day if the contamination has been removed. If your bin is stickered again for contamination, your recycling service may be suspended.

The collected waste from your recycling bin is taken to a Materials Recovery Facility at Gateshead, where it is separated and bundled into different types of materials. These bundles are then taken to another processing facility to be made into new goods.