Kerbside collection in Brisbane

Brisbane City Council collects household items such as furniture, white goods, bicycles and small appliances from the kerb on scheduled dates, but it leaves behind anything on its unacceptable list, from garden waste and building waste to chemicals, gas bottles and tyres. Items go out only 2 days before the collection period, in a pile no bigger than 2 cubic metres, and each must be easy and safe for 2 people to lift.

General information about Brisbane City Council’s kerbside collection, not advice about your street. Council’s kerbside collection page and its collection calendar are the places to check.

Knowing the two lists helps when you are deciding what a hired skip is for. Whatever Council will collect from the kerb is one less thing to fit in the bin.

What goes out, and what stays

These are Council’s own lists, word for word, from its page on acceptable items for kerbside collection.

The last line on the unacceptable list carries its own warning about asbestos. The box further down this page sets out what the national, Queensland and Council pages say about it.

Putting things out

Council’s page lists what to remember when you put items out. In plain words:

• Put items out only 2 days before the collection period.
• Keep the pile to 2 cubic metres or less. Council compares that to a small box-trailer load, and it will not collect a bigger pile.
• Make sure 2 people could lift each item easily and safely.
• Take the doors off fridges and cupboards.
• Keep the pile tidy, and leave the footpath and road clear.
• Don’t leave sharp or dangerous objects on the footpath.
• Secure items if severe weather is expected.
• Leave out anything that could be donated, sold or recycled.

Council’s kerbside collection calendar gives the next scheduled collection date for your area.

If something is left behind

1. A notice in the letterboxIf you put out an unacceptable item, Council will leave a notice in your letterbox saying so, and ask you to remove the item and find another way to dispose of it.
2. Seven daysIllegal dumping fines may apply if the item is still there once 7 days have passed after the kerbside collection period.

Council’s illegal dumping page calls this kerbside dumping: an unacceptable item left out for collection. It says you may be fined for it, and that it includes leaving items on the kerb outside your suburb’s scheduled collection dates. The dumping guide covers the rest of that page.

Questions Council answers on its page

A mattress?

Yes. Council says mattresses are accepted in kerbside collection.

A television or computer monitor?

Yes, both can go out. Council asks you to remove all your personal information, properly and permanently, before you recycle any device, and to check with the maker if you are not sure how.

A fridge or washing machine?

Council’s e-waste page says household appliances and white goods smaller than two cubic metres can be put out for kerbside collection.

Old paint?

No. Take it to a resource recovery centre or a Paintback site instead, and never pour it down stormwater or other drains, because paint contains chemicals such as solvents and metals.

Glass, or a glass-top table?

No. Glass goes in your yellow bin, or to a resource recovery centre.

Tyres?

No. Council suggests trying your local tyre service centre, mechanic or garage for recycling.

Old clothes?

Council suggests giving clothes in good condition to a local charity; worn-out, unwearable clothes can go in your red bin.

Before the kerb: passing things on

Council suggests giving usable household items to friends or family, a local charity, or other reuse and recycling organisations, and says most organisations are happy to take items in usable condition. Its Treasure Troves at Acacia Ridge and Geebung sell good second-hand items that residents donate through the resource recovery centres, and are run by the Endeavour Foundation, with all proceeds supporting people with disabilities.