HOUSEHOLD WASTE COLLECTION
Ensuring clean communities with regular kerbside waste collection.
Cook Shire Council offers regular kerbside waste collection for residential properties across most townships and populated areas.
Weekly collection areas
Cooktown, Marton, Quarantine Bay, Keatings Lagoon, Lakeland, Laura, and Coen.
Fortnightly Collection Areas
Poison Creek, Oakey Creek, Endeavour Valley Road, Helenvale, Rossville, Ayton, and Bloomfield.
Properties within the kerbside collection areas are billed half-yearly through rate notices based on the size of the wheelie bin used. The standard bin size is 240L, but smaller 120L bins are available upon request. Contact the Council to to discuss downsizing.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTOINS
What happens if my bin gets broken?
If your has been broken as a result of the rubbish collection, you can report it to us within 48 hours (or 2 business days) by calling 07 4082 0500.
Please note: It is the responsibility of the property owner or resident to keep bins clean and in good repair
What happens if my bin is missed?
If your bin hasn’t been emptied, you can report it to us within 48 hours (or 2 business days) by calling 07 4082 0500.
Please note: The waste contractor will first check the recorded footage from the vehicle to ensure that your bin was missed or partially emptied on collection day. If the footage concludes that your bin was emptied, then your request will be declined. If your request is approved, your bin will be emptied within 2 business days. Please make sure your bin remains at your usual collection point, at the front of your property on the nature strip.
What about public holiday bin collections?
Bins get collected as normal on public holidays.
Bin guidelines and tips
- Please ensure your bin is put out on the night before but no later than 6 am on your scheduled collection day
- Place your bin (with the lid closed) on your nature strip near your driveway, with the wheels facing away from the kerb
- Avoid putting your bin behind a parked car or too close to overhanging trees/branches
- Do not put anything in a bin that prevents you from closing the lid or overfilling your garbage bin as this will cause litter on your street.
- Bag your rubbish before putting it in the rubbish bin
- It is the responsibility of the property owner or resident to keep bins clean and in good repair
- Remove your bin from the kerb the same day after it is emptied
What NOT to put in your rubbish bin?
You should never put the following items in your rubbish bin:
- Household or car batteries
- Battery-operated power tools, toys, vapes etc.
- Building and renovation waste
- E-waste (household appliances with a cord, plug or batteries such TVs, computers, laptops, computer accessories, printers, printer cartridges and mobile phones)
- Fluorescent light globes
- Gas or helium bottles
- Fire extinguishers
- Hot ash
- Household chemicals including oil, paint, cleaning products, fertilisers, car care products and liquid waste
- Soil, rocks and bricks
- Syringes
- Tyres
How can I dispose of items that cannot go in a bin?
Everyone has a general environmental duty to ensure no harm comes to the environment including waterways. Take steps to dispose of the waste the right way.
Call 07 4082 0500 for your local waste disposal options or visit one of our waste facilities.
Take care when engaging waste disposal by a third party.
What are your fees and charges?
Kerbside collection charges
Council provides a refuse collection service for residential properties within defined refuse area maps marked Coen; Cooktown, Marton, Lakeland; Laura; Helenvale and Rossville; Oaky Creek, Poison Creek and Endeavour Valley Road and Ayton Refuse Collection Area Maps. All residential land, excluding vacant land, within the service areas attract the refuse collection charge, irrespective of whether they use the service or not.
Rural/Residential properties on the Peninsula Development Road between Lakeland and Laura have been offered kerbside refuse collection, but only those residents who wish to utilise the service will attract the refuse collection charge.
To provide the flexibility for residential properties to implement best practice waste minimisation systems that suit their individual circumstances Council provides the land owners, with the exception of Coen residents, with a choice of either a 120 litre or 240 litre wheelie bins for collection.Contact Council to discuss downsizing.
Environmental levy
Landfilling comes at a cost. The Council has a responsibility to carry out ongoing monitoring and rehabilitation of all its legacy landfills.
A separate charge will be levied equally on each parcel of rateable land within Cook Shire to fund the rehabilitation and after-care costs of Council Waste Management Facilities located at Archer River, Ayton, Coen, Cooktown, Lakeland, Laura, Moreton Telegraph, Portland Roads and Rossville.
Waste Operations Levy
A separate charge will be levied equally on each parcel of rateable land within Cook Shire to contribute towards operational costs of Council Waste Management Facilities located at Ayton, Coen, Cooktown, Lakeland, Laura, Portland Roads and Rossville. This levy is also used to address illegal dumping.
Waste disposal fees at our waste facilities
Each year, the Council reviews all fees applicable to waste disposal of self-hauled items. These changes account for the actual costs of waste disposal and meet the needs of legislative changes.
Find our Fees & Charges here.