Be on Santa’s nice list and make sure you do the right thing with your waste over the festive season.

Wollongong City Council is reminding residents to only fill your FOGO bin with food and garden waste, recycle what you can, and only put landfill-destined items in the red-lid bin. If you are unsure where something belongs, check Council’s A-Z Recycling Guide.

Here’s some essential waste and recycling information for the festive break.

Cardboard and recycling drop-offs

Council’s free festive recycling drop-offs are back at Helensburgh and Towradgi for any additional cardboard and household recycling.

Rex Jackson Park, Helensburgh
Enter from Walker and Robertson Streets. All of carpark near netball courts: 7.30am – 12pm, Monday 29 December.

Ray Robinson Oval, Towradgi
Enter from Moray Road. All of the carpark: 7.30am – 12pm, Tuesday 30 December.

What can you bring?

• Flattened cardboard
• Steel and tin cans
• Aluminium cans, trays and clean foil
• Rigid plastic containers, including lids
• Glass bottles and jars
• Milk and juice Cartons

What will NOT be accepted?

• Soft plastics
• Wrapping paper
• Polystyrene foam
• Food soiled cardboard
• Unflattened cardboard boxes
• General waste
• Food organics and garden organics
• Clothing and linen
• Soft plastics

Clean, dry and empty soft plastics can be dropped off at Flagstaff Group at 26 Nolan Street Unanderra during the following times only:

• Monday – Thursday, 4.15pm – 4.45pm
• Saturdays, 8am – 10.45am

Tip: Most Woolworths stores across Wollongong also have soft plastic collection points.

Wrapping paper

Large pieces of plain wrapping paper can be scrunched into a ball and recycled in your yellow-lid bin.

Metallic or glitter wrapping paper cannot be recycled and should go in your red-lid bin.

Leftovers and FOGO

All food waste and garden waste can go into your green-lid Food Organics Garden Organics bin (just make sure your bin lid can close). This includes:

• Ham bones.
• Seafood and shells.
• Plate scrapings.
• Real Christmas trees (NOTE: Trees must be cut into lengths so the lid can close. Fake Christmas trees belong in your red-lid rubbish bin).

Tip: If you’re worried about the smell from food scraps and prawn heads, put the food scraps and shells into a FOGO caddy liner and place in the freezer. You can then put this entire frozen FOGO bag into your green-lid wheely bin on collection day.

Kerbside collections

Kerbside bin collections will continue as normal over the festive season, with the exception of Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Place your bins on the kerb as normal and they will be come be collected either that day or the next.

The Wollongong Waste and Resource Recovery Park (including the Community Recycling Centre) is only closed on Christmas Day. Otherwise, its hours of operation over the festive season are 7.30am to 4.30pm on weekdays, and 8am to 4pm on weekends and public holidays.

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