Residential households can book up to three free collections (of each service) per financial year — so, you can receive three hard rubbish collections, three bulk cardboard collections and three bundled branch collections annually.
Hard rubbish, branches and cardboard
Booking a collection
Your household can book up to three free collections (of each service) per financial year — so, you can receive three hard rubbish collections, three bulk cardboard collections and three bundled branch collections annually.
This includes residents who live in apartment blocks that are not serviced by Council for their kerbside waste (ie. do not have Glen Eira bins). Please also check with your property manager or owners corporation, as some properties have additional rules in place about where to place rubbish and on which week of the month.
How to book
Step 1: Check your items for collection meet our guidelines.
Step 2: Make a booking. Book hard rubbish, bulk cardboard or bundled branches collections online or contact us on 03 9524 3333.
Step 3: Once you have submitted your booking, place your items out the night before the collection day.
Please note:
- No confirmation email is required. There is no need to wait for a confirmation email – once you have submitted your booking it is in our system and we will collect your items on the next collection day.
- Using a different nature strip. Please specify at the time of booking if your items will be left on a different nature strip, not directly out the front of your property address.
- Double check the guidelines below. If you place any non-compliant items out or if your collection is over the cubic metre size limit, your whole collection may be rejected.
| Hard rubbish or bulk cardboard collections | Bundled branch collections | |
| When do I need to make a booking? |
Bookings can be made from one week to one day in advance. You need to submit your booking before midnight prior to your collection day. So, if bins are emptied on a Monday in your street, you need to submit your booking before 11.59pm Sunday. |
Bookings can be made from one week to one day in advance. You need to submit your booking before 3pm on Tuesday for collection the next day. |
| When do I put items out on the nature strip? |
Put hard rubbish or bulk cardboard out the night before bins are collected in your street. So, if bins are emptied on a Wednesday in your street, put your items out on Tuesday evening. |
Put bundled branches out on Tuesday night ready for Wednesday collection. |
| What day will my items be collected? |
Hard rubbish or bulk cardboard bookings are collected the same day as bins are emptied in your street. So, if bins are emptied on a Friday, your items will also be collected on a Friday. |
Bundled branches are collected on Wednesday. |
Before booking, check if items can be repaired or reused
If your items are in good working order, you can also donate them. You can search our recycling A-Z guide to find an Op Shop, or contact Donate Direct to match items to those in need. If possible, we recommend you find a repair, reuse or recycling option near you to dispose of your items in an environmentally friendly way.
Public holidays:
If your booked collection day falls on a public holiday, it will be collected one working day before or after your normal collection day.
Cancelling a booked collection
You can cancel your booked collection by calling Customer Service during business hours on 9524 3333. Please call before the scheduled collection date.
You cannot cancel your booking if it is on the same day as your scheduled collection. Any booking not cancelled before the collection date is included as one of your 3 free booked collections for the financial year.
Hard rubbish guidelines
Size limits:
- Maximum of four cubic metres of hard waste.
- Maximum length or height of two metres for single items.
We may not collect everything at once. Separate trucks are used for different items.
The items and materials collected through hard rubbish collections are sent to specialised facilities for further processing and recycling. What is left from these processes is disposed of at landfill. Materials like carpet and timber cannot be recycled.
We encourage residents to donate any items in workable condition directly to charities, and have items repaired wherever possible before discarding.
Hard rubbish — we will collect
Yes we collect:
- household furniture (chairs, couches, tables, drawers, bed bases)
- household appliances and white goods (doors must be removed or taped shut)
- household mattresses (maximum of 4 mattresses per collection)
- doonas, blankets and pillows
- timber (up to 10 pieces less than 2 metres long, no protruding nails)
- carpet or linoleum (up to one cubic metre rolled up)
- glass and ceramics (must be wrapped and labelled for safety)
- empty paint tins.
To find out how to dispose of full paint tins, visit our Rubbish or recyclable? Our A-Z guide.
Hard rubbish — we won't collect
NO we will not collect:
- car parts, batteries or tyres
- gas bottles
- chemicals, liquids or empty chemical containers
- paint or oil
- building, renovation or demolition waste material (timber, bricks, plasterboard, concrete, soil, rubble etc.)
- fibreboard (MDF), cupboard and bench materials
- commercial or business waste
- pallets
- general household waste or garden waste
- heavy items that can't be lifted by two people
- broken or unwrapped glass
- asbestos
Electronic waste (e-waste)
Drop-off smaller E-waste items at our collection stations at the Carnegie, Elsternwick, Caulfield and Bentleigh Libraries. They accept:
- phones and cameras, and their cords and accessories
- x-rays
- batteries
- CDs and floppy disks
- videos, cassettes, cases
- fluorescent tubes
- light globes
Larger E-waste or appliances that are not suitable to drop-off at our e-waste library hubs, such as DVD players, microwaves, kitchenware, small whitegoods, and office ware such as printers etc, can be dropped off at your nearest transfer station.
We encourage residents to donate any items in workable condition directly to charities, and have items repaired wherever possible before discarding.
Here are some other ways to recycle your electronic waste:
- Televisions and computers: National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme
- Donate Direct (if in working order)
- Mobile phones: Mobile Muster or PhoneCycle
- Batteries: B-cycle
- Printer cartridges: Cartridges for Planet Ark
Find out more about recycling electronic waste.
You can book a hard rubbish collection for larger e-waste items but we cannot guarantee that these items will be recycled.
We can collect these items through the hard rubbish service:
- screens or monitors
- computers
- televisions
- printers
- microwaves.
It is important that everything you use is disposed of responsibly. Please refer to our A-Z Rubbish and Recycling Guide for what to do with items that cannot be disposed of in your household bins or through Council’s hard rubbish collection.
See here for tips and transfer station locations that can accept some of these items. Please contact them directly to confirm. Fees may apply.
Bulk cardboard guidelines
We will collect:
- flattened secured cardboard
- maximum of 3 cubic metres cardboard per collection.
You must tie your cardboard in a bundle with strong string.
Bundled branch guidelines
Size limits:
- Maximum bundles of two metres long and 30 centimetres thick.
- Maximum of 20 bundled branches, no more than three cubic metres.
We will collect:
- tied bundled tree branches (see size limits)
If your branches are less than 7.5 centimetres thick, you must tie them in bundles with strong string, not pantyhose, plastic or wire.
Bundled branches — what we won't collect
- timber, stumps or roots
- branches over 15 centimetres thick
- soil-contaminated materials
- loose untied green waste - put this in your green bin
- green waste in boxes or bags
- branches containing wire or nails
- ivy, bamboo, vines, palm trees/fronds, yuccas, thorny plants like rose bushes, weeds, grass or leaves
- real Christmas trees, over two metres in length.
