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Reducing litter in Brisbane

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Find out how to contribute to a litter-free city, borrow a litter clean-up kit and find a container refund point near you.

Young girl walking ahead of family in a Brisbane park to place cardboard food box in recycling bin

Littering and the law

Littering is the unlawful discarding of waste material that is less than 200 litres (approximately the size of a wheelie bin) in volume.

This commonly includes items such as cigarette butts, drink bottles and cans, fast food packaging, food scraps, plastic straws and fishing tackle.

Littering may attract on-the-spot fines or prosecution, so make sure you dispose of your rubbish responsibly.

mdi information outline

Note

Illegal dumping is the unlawful disposal of more than 200 litres of waste.  

If you find illegally dumped items or see someone dumping materials, report it to Council.

Reducing litter in public spaces and in the community

Council’s street cleaners work hard every day to sweep our roads, footpaths and parks.

You can also help to achieve our vision of a litter-free and sustainable Brisbane. 

tip

Simple things you can do to help keep Brisbane litter free

  • Borrow a litter clean-up kit as an individual, community group, business or school.
  • Take your rubbish with you rather than leaving it in the park.
  • Pick up after your dog. Council offers bags in many dog parks to help you do this.
  • When cleaning your footpath, pick up rubbish to prevent it from falling into the street gutters.
  • Close wheelie bin lids to avoid waste overflowing and becoming litter. Does your bin need to be fixed? Lodge a request to repair your bin.
  • Only place large household items on the kerb for collection during the kerbside collection period.

Looking for something else

Kerbside large item collection

What goes in my bins?

Report bin problems

Borrow a litter clean-up toolkit

The free litter clean-up toolkit has been created as a resource for Brisbane communities.

You can use the litter clean-up toolkit to clean up in a park after your barbecue or party.

Community groups can also use the kits to clean up their local park or natural area. The kits are also suitable for schools, kindergartens, sporting clubs and business groups.

Litter kits include:

  • lightweight litter pickers to collect items such as bottles, cans and other debris
  • hand-held bins 
  • a safety toolkit.

You can borrow the kits for up to a month. There is no charge for borrowing items, you can collect them from a ward office or choose to have it delivered.

Borrow a kit

Other ways to reduce littering in the community

Take part in waste activities in your community.

  • Get involved in cleaning local bushland by joining a community bushcare group.
  • Organise your own clean-up event. Email our Litter team for tips and advice.
  • Participate in the WasteSMART Brisbane Awards. The annual awards recognise individuals and groups who undertake waste smart activities and practices, including litter clean-ups to create a more sustainable Brisbane.

Be a role model and lead positive litter behaviour in your business.

  • Borrow a litter clean-up kit and host a clean-up event with your colleagues.
  • Use our waste and recycling posters in your workplace to encourage office recycling and reducing waste.

Make litter-reduction part of your classroom to foster the development of anti-litter values.

  • Teachers can borrow the litter clean-up kit with up to 100 litter pickers to undertake clean-up activities with their students.
  • Plan a clean-up event to coincide with these special days:
    • Clean Up Australia Day - the first Sunday of March
    • World Environment Day - 5 June
    • World Cleanup Day - the third Saturday of September.
  • Use our online lesson plans and resources for teachers to support litter education and action in Australian schools.

Find a container refund point near you

There are container refund points in Brisbane where you can return eligible containers and earn a refund or donate your refund to charity.

You can receive 10 cents when you return a drink container at a container refund point. Look for the 10 cents label on the container to see if it is eligible.

The Queensland Governmen scheme aims to reduce container litter, encourage recycling and help communities by paying refunds to individuals, charities and community groups. 

Visit Containers for Change to find a refund point near you.

Frequently asked questions

Most aluminium, plastic, steel and liquid paperboard beverage containers are eligible for a 10 cents refund. Look for the 10 cents label on the container to see if it is eligible or visit Containers for Change to learn more.

If you prefer to donate your drink container to a community group or another organisation, container return points can direct the 10 cents refund payment to a registered group.

To stop someone littering, you can report illegal dumping and littering to Council online or call 07 340 38888.

To help prevent littering, you can be a role model in your community. Get  involved in Council's '104 or more' litter initiative and lead positive litter behaviour.

You can also  borrow a litter clean-up kit and host a clean-up activity or event with your club or colleagues.

Schools can borrow a litter clean-up kit with up to 100 litter pickers to undertake a clean-up with their school community.

You might like to plan clean-up activities to coincide with the following annual events:

  • Clean Up Australia Day - the first Sunday of March
  • World Environment Day - 5 June
  • World Cleanup Day - the third Saturday of September.