The NSW food waste rules,
plainly.
Businesses and institutions must separate food waste once general waste passes a weekly threshold. The threshold drops in three steps between 2026 and 2030.
Three steps,
two years apart.
The threshold is the weekly amount of general waste a site produces before it must separate food waste.
- From 1 July 2026, now
3,960L a week
The largest sites come first.
- From 1 July 2028
1,980L a week
Mid-size sites follow.
- From 1 July 2030
720L a week
That's three 240L wheelie bins a week.
Thresholds from the NSW Government food waste rules, checked 28 Sep 2026.
Count your
general waste bins.
The 720L threshold is three 240L wheelie bins collected once a week. Add up the size and number of your general waste bins, and how often they're collected, against each threshold.
Silent film, 15 seconds. Press play; sound is off.
Read what the reel says
A crowd of small figures stands for sites, and a bin shape changes size above them. NSW food waste rules, in people. The bin is 3,960 litres from July 2026, so the biggest sites are in now. It drops to 1,980 litres from 2028, so more are in. It drops to 720 litres from 2030, so more again. It ends on the line: Check where your site sits.
Four things
get you ready.
- Separate food waste from general waste
- Set up a weekly collection service
- Put up signage in the kitchen
- Brief staff on what goes in the caddy