Easter in Australia is a time for family, camping trips, and… Let’s be honest, an impressive amount of chocolate. But once the sugar rush fades, we’re left with a mountain of colourful foil, plastic “windows”, and cardboard boxes.
In 2026, Australia’s recycling landscape is shifting. With new soft plastic schemes and stricter council rules, knowing what goes in which bin is the real Easter egg hunt. Here your definitive guide to cleaning up after the Easter Bunny.
- The “Foil Ball” Trick (Yellow Bin)
Did you know that individual Easter egg wrappers are actually to small for the recycling machines? If you toss a single tiny foil square into your yellow bin, it will likely fall through the gaps in the sorting facility and end up in a landfill.
The Fix: You need to channel your inner Katamari.
- The First Rule” Collect every single piece of clean aluminium foil from your eggs and bunnies.
- The Goal: Scrunch them together into a tight ball. Once the ball is roughly the size of a golf ball (or better yet, a tennis ball), it’s heavy enough for the recycling machines to detect and sort correctly.
2. The Soft Plastic Situation (Supermarket Drop-off)
After the collapse of REDcycle, Australia has spent the last few years rebuilding. In 2026, The Soft Plastic Stewardship Australia (SPSA) scheme is in full swing.
- What counts? The crinkly bags that hold the small eggs or the clear “windows” on the front of cardboard egg boxes.
- The Test: If you can scrunch the plastic in your hand and it it stays scrunched (rather than springing back like a plastic bottle), it’s a soft plastic.
- Where to take it: Don’t put these in your home yellow bin! Take them back to the dedication collection hubs at major supermarkets like Coles, Woolworths, or ALDI.
3. Cardboard & Rigid Plastic (Yellow Bin)
This is the easy part. The outer boxes are 100& recyclable.
- Cardboard: Flatten the boxes to save space in your bin.
- Plastic Inserts: Most large eggs sit in a clear plastic tray. In 2026, most of the these are made from PER or rPET. As long as they aren’t “crinkly”, they can go straight into your kerbside recycling.
4. The 2026 “Eco-Friendly” Egg
You might notice more brands moving away from plastic entirely this year. Many Australian chocolatiers are now using compostable “plastic” made from cornstarch or cellulose.
⚠️ Warning: Check the label! If a wrapper say’s “Home Compostable,” it belongs in your green FOGO bin or backyard compost, not the yellow recycling bin. Mixing compostable plastics with regular recycling can actually contaminate the whole batch.
The Easter Waste Cheat Sheet:
| Material | Bin / Destination | Pro Tip |
| Aluminium Foil | Yellow Bin | Scrunch into a ball (gold ball size or larger). |
| Cardboard Box | Yellow Bin | Flatten it first! |
| Crinkly Bags | Supermarket Hub | Do the “scrunch test” first. |
| Hard Plastic Trays | Yellow Bin | Ensure they are clean of chocolate smudges. |
| Compostable Wraps | Green Bin / home Compost | Look for the “Home Compostable” logo. |
By taking an extra five minutes to sort your wrappers this year, you’re helping ensure that the only thing left behind after Easter is the memories (and maybe a few chocolate stains).
Happy (and Sustainable) Easter, Australia