HomeCycle
HomeCycle doorstep recycling – put more out, less often!
HomeCycle is the new doorstep recycling service that will replace RecycleSmart for Inner West residents, with collections commencing on Monday 10 March. Recycling and reuse through HomeCycle and other local drop off points makes reducing waste to landfill easy! It will follow a very similar process, with added benefits such as being easier to make and keep track of bookings, and a user-friendly bookings website.
Using the HomeCycle program will increase the volume of items picked up, such as soft plastics, making it easier for those without access to local available drop off points to recycle tricky items. The new program has a minimum requirement of two bags of items for recycling.
However, there is no limit to the amount of materials that can be picked-up each time through HomeCycle, meaning you can recycle more items over fewer collections from your home.
As more is collected at each pickup, less frequent pickups are needed:
- More residents across the Inner West can access the service
- Wait times are reduced for pickups
- Less truck movements, more environmentally friendly
When can I book?
- Monday 3 March – HomeCycle doorstep recycling online bookings open
- Monday 10 March – HomeCycle doorstep recycling pickups start
- Tuesday 1 April onwards – RecycleSmart Council-funded bookings will be cancelled
What if I have an existing RecycleSmart booking?
- Up to 31 March 2025 – existing bookings through RecycleSmart will be picked-up
- From Tuesday 1 April 2025 onwards – Council-funded bookings with RecycleSmart will be cancelled
- You may cancel your RecycleSmart booking in March, if you prefer to rebook with HomeCycle instead.
How does it work?
- Save up your items for recycling until you have at least 2 shopping bags worth – the more the better!
- The link to our HomeCycle registration page will be provided here on this website page on or just before 3 March 2025
- Create an account
- Book your pickup
- You’ll get a booking confirmation and a reminder beforehand via email and SMS
- Place your items in an accessible spot for pickup
- You'll get a notification email or SMS from HomeCycle once it's been collected
What items are accepted through HomeCycle?
- Soft plastics
- Clothing (wearable and unwearable)
- Shoes/sneakers (wearable and unwearable)
- E-waste (mobile phones, computers, ear/headphones, screens etc.)
- Blister packs (medicine packets)
- Bed linen
- Toys
- Small household electronics (with plug or cord)
- Batteries
- X-rays (remove personal information first)
- Coffee pods
- Printer cartridges
Availability and amount per pickup
This service is funded by Council ratepayers and the number of pickups available per month is limited.
Please save up your items and only book a few pickups per year to keep costs down and share available bookings with the rest of our community.
- Minimum amount – ensure you have a minimum of two bags ready for pickup...the more the better!
- No maximum amount – as there is no maximum amount per pickup, please save up your items and present more items less frequently to share the available bookings without increasing costs.
Use other free local drop offs
Soft plastics recycling is returning to supermarkets and there are many recycling options in our community for clothing, shoes and linen. These are easy to use when you're shopping or taking a walk in the neighbourhood. Preloved reusable items can also be donated on social media platforms to ensure someone gets the use out of them.
Other recycling options are often funded through product stewardship. Product stewardship is when companies pay for the recycling of their own products.
By using other drop off, donation or product stewardship options where they are available instead of the HomeCycle, you free up the service for those who really need it the most (e.g. those with a physical restriction/impairment or without own transport) and save ratepayer funds that can be used on other resource recovery programs.
See what other options are available at our A-Z recycling guide.
Why can't these items go in my yellow lid recycling bin?
Recycling facilities are set up with technology and equipment to deal with specific types of materials and containers. Items like soft plastic and textiles get tangled in machinery, so can't be accepted. Local drop off points like supermarkets for soft plastic and clothing/textile bins and doorstep recycling service providers like HomeCycle offer dedicated sorting and recycling to maximise recycling and minimise waste to landfill.
How are my items recycled and repurposed?
Clothing and linen in good condition are donated to charity or reused in communities that need them.
Unwearable clothing is repurposed into rags in the industrial sector.
Electronics are sorted and broken down into various materials for recycling. Batteries can be recycled into new ones. Mobile phone components can be used to make new technology, reducing the need for the mining of raw materials.
X-rays have the silver removed and turned into new silver products, like jewellery, and the remaining film is added to road base bitumen.
Coffee pods are separated for their resources. Coffee grounds are composted and the aluminium casings are recycled into new products.
Printer cartridge recycling recovers the plastics, metals, ink and toner where it is resold as raw materials for manufacturing.
Soft plastics are shredded, chemically treated and processed into reusable oil and carbon ash.