Takeaway food containers – what you can and can’t recycle

Rigid plastic containers and lids

Rinse clean and put them in your yellow lid recycling bin.

Coffee cups and lids, and plastic straws

7Eleven stores collect takeaway coffee cups, lids and plastic straws to be recycled. Otherwise, you can put the lids into your yellow lid recycling bin, but the cups must go into your general waste bin (along with the plastic straws).

Aluminium cans, and plastic/glass bottles

These can go into your yellow lid recycling bin, or you can take them to Containers for Change for a 10c refund for each eligible item.

Plastic lids

Lids from plastic drink bottles can’t be recycled in your yellow lid recycling bin as they are too small to be picked up by the factory sorting machines.  

Claw Environmental will take all plastic lids and Containers for Change will take any lids from their list of eligible drink containers.  

Metal lids

Metal bottle caps from glass soft drink bottles can also be recycled in your yellow lid recycling bin. As they are small, the best way to recycle them is to put them into a container of the same material (such as a tin can) and squash it closed.  

Paper and cardboard containers

If the paper bags are clean, remove any plastic labels or tape (and receipts stapled to the bags), then put them in your yellow lid recycling bin.

If the paper bag has any food residue it can be put into your lime green lid FOGO bin (if your council supplies one).  

Clean/food-free cardboard such as pizza boxes can be recycled in your yellow lid recycling bin. If the cardboard has food residue, it can go into your lime green lid FOGO bin. If your local council doesn’t supply a FOGO bin, then it goes into your general waste bin.

Plastic cups

Any rigid plastic cups can be rinsed and placed in your yellow top recycling bin.  

Polystyrene containers and cups

These can’t go into your recycling bins, but some takeaway polystyrene items can be recycled via Claw Environmental.  

Napkins and paper towels

Small amounts can be placed in your FOGO bin if you have one. If not, put them in your general waste bin.

Utensils

Bamboo utensils can go into your FOGO bin; if you don’t have one, they go into your general waste bin along with juice boxes and any other silver-lined cartons.  

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