North Shore council clean-up rules, council by council

On Sydney's North Shore there is no single clean-up rule. Ku-ring-gai and Lane Cove each allow four booked household collections a calendar year. Willoughby allows one booked collection and three scheduled ones, and will not take a mattress in that pile. Mosman includes two free clean-ups a year. North Sydney collects booked household waste every second Monday, up to two cubic metres for a house. Put the pile out the night before, not days ahead.

What each council allows

Ku-ring-gai

Book online or call 9424 0000. The four general clean-ups reset on 1 January, and wait times are common. The same property can also book four bulk green-waste collections in the year. That green-waste service is separate: branches up to 1.2 metres long and 15 cm thick, no grass, leaf litter, bagged waste or tree stumps.

The general clean-up takes furniture, mattresses, carpet in manageable rolls, and e-waste (TVs, computers and peripherals) if you mark them on the booking. It does not take paint, chemicals, gas bottles, building or renovation waste, mirrors, car parts or tyres. Oversized metal has to be cut to 2 metres. Each house or unit books for itself. Adding your pile to a neighbour's booking is treated as illegal dumping.

Lane Cove

Four free collections a year. Book online or call 1300 655 006, and book ahead because wait times apply. If you have just moved in and the previous occupant has already used the four bookings, email service@lanecove.nsw.gov.au.

Mattresses, furniture and whitegoods are accepted. Fridge and freezer doors must come off. Televisions and computers are not accepted in the clean-up. Neither are paint, chemicals, gas cylinders, building materials, tyres or items longer than 1.5 metres. Anything over the 3 cubic metre limit, or anything on the refused list, can be left and investigated as illegal dumping.

Willoughby

One free booked collection and three free scheduled collections each calendar year. The truck only takes what two people can lift from the nature strip. It does not enter the property or a driveway. Book the free collection at least a month ahead if you want a choice of date. Cancel less than 7 days before a booked collection and you lose that free booking until the next calendar year.

Label the pile. Scheduled weeks use the scheduled clean-up label. Booked collections use the pre-booked label. A handwritten note on the street side is accepted if you cannot print one. It should say Council Bulky Waste Collection and include the Sunday date Council gave you.

Mattresses and ensemble bases are not part of this pile. Willoughby runs a separate booked mattress collection. The bulky pile also refuses TVs, computers, batteries, paint, chemicals, gas bottles, building materials, mirrors and polystyrene. Whitegoods are accepted on the booked service if the doors are removed. Extra collections can be prepaid, up to 2 cubic metres, and must be either household goods or vegetation, not a mix. The fee is on Willoughby's fees and charges schedule.

North Sydney

Every second Monday there is a collection for household items that will not fit in the red bin. Book online, or call the waste hotline on 1300 799 019, by 4pm on the Sunday before. A house allowance is two cubic metres, about a small box-trailer load. Each unit gets 0.5 cubic metres. Council's contractor is URM.

Accepted items include furniture, mattresses, clothing, carpet in rolls up to 1.2 metres, and small appliances such as microwaves. Put large items and whitegoods on a street the truck can reach, not a rear laneway, and not before the Sunday. Refused items include liquid waste and paint, bean bags, tyres and car parts, and oversized pieces such as Hills hoists, baths, toilets and commercial-size fridges.

Mosman

The domestic waste charge includes two free household clean-ups a year. Dates are on the zone calendar and in the MyMosman app. If you cannot wait, book a prepaid collection on 9978 4076 or the council form. Each property is limited to four prepaid collections a year, with three working days' notice. To change or cancel, call the Waste Line before 5pm on the business day before collection. The charge is on Mosman's schedule of fees and charges.

Accepted examples include fridges and freezers (degassed, doors removed), stoves, washing machines, dryers, toys, bicycle frames, and one piece of carpet or linoleum up to 1.5 metres. Not accepted: e-waste, hot water units, vegetation, building and demolition waste, car parts and tyres, food scraps, paint, oils, chemicals, and any item over 30 kg. Do not put items out until the night before.

Mosman residents also get discounted rates at Kimbriki in Ingleside for mixed waste, with proof of residency. The free drop-offs there (TVs, paint, batteries and the rest) are covered in the Northern Beaches donation and recycling guide.

Paint, chemicals and TVs

The shared drop-off for problem waste is the Northern Sydney Community Recycling Centre, 8 Waltham Street, Artarmon. Lane Cove Council says it was set up by the City of Ryde, Hunters Hill, North Sydney and Willoughby with the NSW EPA, and Lane Cove sends its own residents there for paint, gas bottles, car batteries, oils and e-waste. Hours are Wednesday to Friday 8am to 2pm, and Saturday and Sunday 8am to 4pm. It is closed Monday, Tuesday and public holidays. The EPA says most community recycling centres are open to NSW residents, with named exceptions only for Leichhardt and Cumberland.

Do not drive to Cleanaway's Artarmon Resource Recovery Centre for a car-boot drop-off. Lane Cove Council says that centre has been closed to resident hand unloads and cardboard since 2 March 2026. Household Chemical CleanOut events remain the fallback for chemicals, fuels and gas bottles, in household quantities up to 20 litres or 20 kilograms of any one item.