New 2026-2027 bin collection schedules begun. Head to the Find My Bin page to look up yours.
New waste collection schedules have been implemented with urban recycling moving to fortnightly collection.
This change is about keeping our waste services reliable, sustainable and cost‑effective into the future.
We know moving to a fortnightly schedule will be a big adjustment for some households, so we want to work with the community and make the transition as easy as possible.
Watch our helpful explainer animation below to learn more about the upcoming changes to Kiama's waste operations.
Kiama-Waste-Changes_Landscape_with-Subtitles_Final_v01.mp4
We have reviewed our services to balance workloads and reduce overtime. This helps keep our waste service running smoothly and more cost effective. Waste charges will not decrease as part of this change. However, improving efficiency helps stabilise costs over time as these costs increase year. These external costs rise every year, and improving efficiency is one of the few ways we can reduce pressure on waste charges.
FAQ – July 2026 collection changes
Waste collection routes have been reviewed to balance workloads across the Waste Services team, improve efficiency and reduce overtime.
From this, new collection schedules have been created and will be implemented alongside the shift to fortnightly recycling from July 2026.
Residents will be mailed their new schedules before 1 July 2026, and the new schedules will be made available on our website in June.
We will provide guidance to help households recycle correctly, reduce contamination and make the most of their yellow‑bin capacity.
Residents can also purchase an additional yellow-lid bin and pay an additional annual collection fee. See our urban waste collection page for information on bin packages and collection.
Only yellow-bin recycling collection is changing to fortnightly.
However, all bin collection routes have been updated for FY 2026/2027 following a detailed review and most residents will see a change in their bin collection day.
The new schedule will be released in June and implemented in July.
No. Waste charges will not go down because of this change. However, improving efficiency helps stabilise costs by reducing operational expenses and offsetting rising landfill and processing costs.
Our waste service charges generally rise each year due to inflation.
The Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) sets the allowable rate increase (rate peg) for all NSW Councils.
Like other services, costs are increasing and can't be fully absorbed. Rising costs are reflected in Council's rates and our fees & charges.
At this stage, your red and yellow-lid bins will be put out fortnightly but on alternate weeks. This will be confirmed closer to the time, with your updated collection schedule.
FOGO collection will remain weekly.
Council will continue to provide an additional waste service in the Christmas-New Year period.
For additional fees, you can purchase the following options:
See our urban waste collection page for information on bin packages and collection.
Like all councils, Kiama faces rising costs driven by:
These pressures increase the cost of collecting and transporting all waste streams.
Kiama no longer has its own landfill or recycling sorting facility, so we rely on external providers to process red‑bin waste, yellow‑bin recycling and FOGO material. These external costs increase every year and are outside Council’s control. Improving the way we deliver the service is one of the few ways we can reduce pressure on waste charges.
No. Council is not outsourcing any domestic waste services and is not reducing staff. Kiama’s waste collections will continue to be delivered by our existing in-house waste team. Some incorrect statements have been circulating in the community, but these are not true.
A review of our Waste Services in 2025 found that many yellow bins were being put out with only small amounts of material. This showed that most households do not need weekly recycling collections, with only 66% of yellow-lid recycling bins being put out each week that are only half full (average 6.3kg). Changing to a fortnightly service helps us deliver the service more efficiently as Kiama grows.
Yes. The Minnamurra Waste Depot is not closing now, but Council is exploring options.
The community should be aware the Minnamurra Waste Depot:
Council's waste review will explore future options for the Community Recycling Centre (CRC).
Any possible changes would occur gradually over the next three years, after community consultation.
There is no closure happening now.
Waste services operate in a competitive commercial market. Council pays commercial rates per tonne for each waste stream, which are set through tenders and must remain confidential by law. This is standard practice across NSW local government. Only operational details are confidential, not the review itself.
Page updated: 18 May 2026
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