Home / Guides / Disposing of things

Green waste: what to do with garden rubbish

Disposing of things · 6 minute read

Garden waste is heavy, seasonal, and almost entirely recoverable. It's also the material most often burned illegally.

Kerbside green bins

Most metropolitan councils provide a green organics bin, typically collected fortnightly. Accepted material usually includes grass clippings, leaves, prunings, small branches and weeds. Many councils now also accept food scraps in the same bin — check yours, because contamination rules matter and a contaminated load can be sent to landfill.

What's generally excluded: soil and rocks, treated timber, plastic plant pots, and branches above a certain diameter or length.

Bigger jobs

A green bin is useless when you've just removed a hedge. Options for volume:

• Transfer station drop-off. Green waste is usually charged at a lower rate than general waste because it's processed into mulch and compost. Keep it separated — mixing it with general rubbish means paying the higher rate on the whole load.
• Green waste skip. Cheaper per cubic metre than a mixed skip for the same reason.
• Removal service. Practical for large one-off clean-ups where you don't want to handle heavy, awkward branches.
• Council green waste collections. Many councils run seasonal bundled-branch collections, often timed before bushfire season.

Mulching on site

The cheapest option is often not removing it at all. Chipped prunings make excellent mulch, suppress weeds and retain moisture. Chipper hire is inexpensive for a day, and arborists will frequently leave chip on site free after a tree job. Grass clippings are better left on the lawn than bagged.

Burning off

Rules on burning garden waste are far stricter than most people assume and vary by council, state and season. In most metropolitan areas it's prohibited outright. In regional areas it's often permitted only with a permit, only outside fire danger periods, and only for specified material. Burning treated timber, painted timber or any household waste is prohibited everywhere. Check with your council and fire authority before lighting anything — penalties are significant and liability for escaped fires is serious.

Weeds and biosecurity

Some declared weeds have movement restrictions, and moving soil or plant material between regions can spread pathogens like Phytophthora and myrtle rust. For invasive species, check your state's requirements rather than assuming the green bin is appropriate — some must be bagged and sent to landfill specifically to prevent them propagating through compost.