Last updated: November 2026
How you dispose of glass in Sydney depends on what it is. Empty bottles and jars go in the yellow recycling bin, and many drink bottles are worth 10c each through NSW's Return and Earn scheme. Broken glass gets wrapped in newspaper and goes in the red bin. Windows, large mirrors and shower screens go to a resource recovery centre.
How to dispose of broken glass safely
The wrapping matters as much as the bin. Willoughby Council asks for newspaper so the pieces can't spill out in the collection truck, and a tight parcel also saves whoever handles the bag from a nasty cut.
- Put on thick gloves and closed shoes, and keep kids and pets out of the room.
- Pick up the big shards with tongs or a folded piece of cardboard.
- Sweep up the small broken pieces, then go over the floor with a vacuum to catch the slivers you can't see.
- Wrap everything in a thick layer of newspaper and tape it shut.
- Write "BROKEN GLASS" on the outside. If there's a lot of it, put the parcel in a cardboard box as well.
- Put it in your red lid general waste bin.
One exception. Don't smash a shower screen or a glass table top into pieces to make it fit. Large glass has its own route, covered further down.
What glass can and can't go in your yellow recycling bin
Only two types of glass belong in the yellow bin, and they're bottles and jars. Plenty of other things in the kitchen are made of glass, and council recycling bins still don't want them.
Yellow bin YES: bottles and jars
- Brown glass bottles and jars, plus clear and green ones
- Wine and beer bottles
- Sauce, jam and condiment jars
- Olive oil bottles
Yellow bin NO: drinking glasses and everything else
- Drinking glasses and vases
- Mirrors
- Window glass
- Light globes
- Pyrex and other oven-proof glass
- Ceramics and crockery
- Candle jars made of thick toughened glass
- Prescription and reading glasses
- Broken glass in small pieces
Bottles and jars should be empty and lightly rinsed before they go in. They don't need to be spotless, and you can rinse them in leftover dishwater to save water. Paper labels can stay on.
If you'd rather reuse glass than throw it out, start with the NO list. Anything still in good condition can be given away. Planet Ark suggests donating glassware, vases, ceramics and Pyrex so someone else gets more use out of them.
Glass recycling in numbers
- Using recycled glass can cut energy use by up to 75% compared with making new glass from raw materials (Cleanaway, checked November 2026).
- Glass bottles and jars are 100% recyclable and can be recycled again and again without losing quality (Planet Ark Recycling Near You, checked November 2026).
Across every container in the scheme, glass, plastic, cans and cartons, Return and Earn reports:
- More than 16.8 billion containers returned through return points and 4.33 billion through kerbside bins, as at 4 November 2026.
- 1,368,089 tonnes of material recycled, as at 4 November 2026.
- A 65% reduction in drink container litter in NSW, as at 4 November 2026.
- A 12-month rolling redemption rate of 67%, as at 4 November 2026.
Return and Earn: getting 10c back on eligible glass bottles
Return and Earn is the NSW container deposit scheme. Most glass, plastic, aluminium and carton drink containers between 150mL and 3 litres earn a 10c refund, and the easiest way to spot one is the 10c mark on the label, usually near the barcode. There are 662 return points around the state.
Returning a bottle does more for it than the yellow bin does. Planet Ark says bottles taken to a deposit scheme are separated on the spot, so there's less contamination and a better chance they become new bottles.
Eligible glass bottles (150mL to 3L):
- Water
- Beer
- Soft drink
- Pre-mixed spirits
- Juice
- Kombucha
Not eligible for Return and Earn:
- Wine bottles
- Spirit bottles
- Plain milk bottles
- Cordial bottles
- Health tonics
- Pure juice bottles over 1L
- Anything under 150mL or over 3L
Those go in your yellow bin instead. A bottle has to be uncrushed, unbroken and empty, with the barcode visible, before a return point will take it. Not sure about one? The container checker in the Return and Earn app scans the barcode and tells you.
Large glass items: windows, mirrors, and shower screens
Don't count on a council clean-up for these. The Hills Shire Council's kerbside clean-up won't accept glass of any type, because of the safety risk to collectors and the public. City of Parramatta's clean-up also leaves out large glass sheets, and sends residents to a Waste and Recycling Centre or a skip bin instead. City of Ryde's clean-up names glass tables and doors among the items it won't collect.
So for most households it's a drop-off. Willoughby Council directs large glass sheets and mirrors to Artarmon Resource Recovery, run by Cleanaway, and fees apply. Out west, The Hills Shire Council sends glass panels to the REMONDIS Resource Recovery Centre at 29 Powers Road, Seven Hills. Ring the centre before you load the car. A shower screen is heavy and awkward, and it's a horrible thing to drop on a driveway.
If the mirror is still whole, someone may want it. Willoughby suggests giving it away through FreeCycle or an op shop.
Need glass taken away?
If you've got a shower screen, an old glass door or a glass table top and no easy way to get it to a recovery centre, Paul can collect it from your property. Paul's team does the carrying, and there's no load limit. Book before midday and Paul can usually collect the same day. See glass removal in Sydney for a free quote, or call 0407 125 125.
