Residents are being encouraged to prepare for new bin days with changes to the region’s waste collection service coming into effect from October.
Bundaberg Regional Council will be updating bin collection days across several suburbs to ensure the process is keeping up with the growing community.
Waste, Water and Renewable Economy portfolio spokesperson Cr Gary Kirk said new bin days would commence from Monday 20 October 2025 and were necessary to support the region’s rapid growth.
“We’ve seen a significant increase in new waste services over the past few years, especially along our coastal areas,” Cr Kirk said.
“More than half of all new services last year were added in the Wednesday collection zone which is now placing too much pressure on our trucks and drivers.”
The Wednesday collection area currently spans from Burnett Heads to Elliott Heads and due to the distance between them and Council waste facilities, collections will become less efficient without these changes.
To address this, Council will redistribute some suburbs across different collection days which will help spread the workload while ensuring backup fleet support remains available in central areas.
Key changes include:
• Burnett Heads and Port Bundaberg: from Wednesday to Friday
• Elliott Heads and Coral Cove: from Wednesday to Thursday
• Ashfield and Kepnock: from Friday to Wednesday
• Thabeban and Bundaberg West: from Thursday to Tuesday
• Millbank: from Tuesday to Monday
The changes will impact approximately 3,500 homes with some also shifting their recycling collections to the alternate week.
“By spreading out the collection zones we can reduce travel times, lower fuel use and improve our recycling recovery through more consistent deliveries to our Materials Recovery Facility,” Cr Kirk said.
“It’s about continuing to deliver a quality service and prepare for future growth in areas like Coral Cove and Elliott Heads, where large developments are on the horizon.”
Find out more about waste and recycling here.
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