Cairns Regional Council runs a kerbside bin collection service, and your exact collection day depends on your address — councils divide their area into zones to balance truck routes across the week, so neighbouring streets can have different days. Check yours right here:
Live lookup
Check your Cairns Regional Council bin day
Enter your postcode and we’ll check your council’s live collection schedule.
Your postcode is served by more than one council. Which one is yours?
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In the meantime, our council bin day guides cover bin colours and schedules for your area.
Your collection schedule
Bindicator
Never check this page again.
Bindicator is a small lamp that glows in these exact bin colours the night before collection. Set it up once, and the lamp does the remembering.
Get Bindicator →Not in Cairns Regional Council? The same bin day checker works for any postcode in Australia and the UK.
You can also check through the official Cairns Regional Council website → — worth a look around public holidays, when councils publish any one-off changes to the schedule.
Bindicator
Tired of checking every fortnight?
Bindicator lights up the night before collection in your Cairns Regional Council bin colours, so you never have to look up the schedule again.
Get Bindicator →Why bin night gets confusing
Most Australian councils, including Cairns Regional Council, collect general waste weekly and alternate recycling and garden organics on a fortnightly rotation. That means you need to know which week of the fortnight you're in, not just which day. Public holidays can shift the entire schedule by a day, and if you've just moved in, your neighbours may be on a completely different rotation to you — even on the same street.
What the bin colours mean
Australian councils broadly follow the national standard for kerbside bins (AS 4123.7): a red lid for general waste, yellow for mixed recycling, and green for garden organics — with some councils adding a lime-green FOGO lid for combined food and garden waste, and a few using local variations. The checker above shows the bin colours Cairns Regional Council actually uses for your address.
An easier way to remember bin night
If you're tired of checking calendars and counting fortnights, there's a simpler approach. Bindicator is a small lamp that sits on your kitchen bench or shelf and lights up the night before collection day in the colour of the bins that need to go out. You set it up once (it takes about 2 minutes), and then you never need to check a Cairns Regional Council schedule again.
Bindicator costs A$35 with free returns and a 3-year warranty. No subscription, no ongoing cost.
Bindicator
Never think about bin night again.
Ships to Australia and the UK · Free returns · 3-year warranty
Get Bindicator for A$35Cairns Regional Council bin day: frequently asked questions
When is bin day in Cairns Regional Council?
Bin collection day in Cairns Regional Council depends on your address. Councils divide their area into collection zones, so neighbouring streets can have different days. Use the checker on this page to see your next collection date, or enter your address on the official Cairns Regional Council website.
What happens to bin collection on public holidays in Cairns Regional Council?
Collection day usually shifts by one day after a public holiday, with the rest of the week pushed back. Check the Cairns Regional Council website around public holidays: exact arrangements vary year to year.
What if I miss a bin collection in Cairns Regional Council?
If your bins were not emptied on collection day, leave them out and contact Cairns Regional Council to report a missed collection. Most councils will return within 1–2 working days.
