Skip to main content
Report an issue
I want to...
      Recent
                    Emergency information
                    Coronavirus (COVID-19) update
                    Read latest updates on our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.
                    Read more

                    Green waste

                    Close-up of a small orange tree.
                    The City of Melbourne offers residents a free pick-up service to remove green waste (garden organics) from their property. Garden waste can also be dropped off for free at the Waste and Recycling Centre.

                    ​You can book a green waste collection once a month on the given Saturday for your suburb. A maximum of two cubic metres of waste per household per month is allowed. All green waste collected is composted.

                    Bookings are essential for all green waste collections and must be made by Thursday before the relevant collection weekend.

                    Be sure to specify what will be placed out for collection and where the material will be placed (at the front, rear or side of the property).

                    Spring Clean 2019

                    Book your free green waste collection this spring.  We’ll collect your garden prunings, branches, lawn clippings and leaves for free. This is a regular service available to residents every month, all year round.

                    Waste we will collect

                    • Manageable bundles of vines, creepers, weeds, leaves. 
                    • Leaves, lawn clippings, flowers, branches, prunings or trunks (no more than 20 cm in diameter). 
                    • Tied bundles of prunings of no more than one metre in length and 30 cm in diameter.

                    Waste we will not collect

                    We will not collect materials that damage the composting equipment or contaminate the end product such as:

                    • rubbish of any sort
                    • food, vegetable or meat scraps
                    • plastic bags
                    • potting mix, soil and ash.

                    Before your collection

                    Before your collection, please:

                    • Store your garden waste on your property until the night before your booked collection day.
                    • Place your garden waste neatly on the kerb and tie in a bundle by 6am on the day of collection.
                    • Place lawn clippings in a cardboard box or plastic crate or container which will be emptied and then left on your nature strip.

                    Problem with your collection?

                    If your green waste was not collected by 4pm on the booked collection day, you can report it online: 

                    You'll need the reference number or date of your booking.

                    Other drop-off locations

                    Garden waste can also be dropped off free of charge at the Waste and Recycling Centre in Dynon Road, West Melbourne. The centre is open 8.30am to 3pm, seven days a week.

                    Please note:

                    • Residents dropping off green waste for free must produce either a current City of Melbourne rates notice, driver's licence or utility bill.
                    • This service is not intended for commercial quantities. It is provided for City of Melbourne residents only.
                    Was this page helpful?

                    If you have a general enquiry or require a response, please contact us.