Lismore households recently threw away an estimated $670,000 by placing eligible drink containers in their kerbside bins instead of claiming their refund, while almost half the contents of red-lid general waste bins could have been recycled or composted, according to Lismore City Council's 2026 Kerbside Domestic Waste Audit.
The audit found residents are performing exceptionally well in separating organic waste, with a 96 per cent compliance rate in green-lid Food Organics and Garden Organics (FOGO) bins and 81 per cent compliance in yellow-lid recycling bins.
However, it also revealed that 43 per cent of material placed in general waste bins could have been diverted from landfill through existing FOGO and recycling services.
Conducted by APC Waste Consultants in May 2026, the audit involved kerbside collections of the general waste, recycling and FOGO bins of 316 randomly selected urban and rural households, with the material sorted and analysed at the Lismore Resource & Recovery Centre.
