A house number on every wheelie bin is the simplest fix for the most common collection-day mix-up: bins wandering off to the wrong driveway. On a street where every bin is the same green body and the same coloured lid, a big, clear number is the only way to tell yours from the neighbours' at a glance.
This guide covers where a bin sticker should go, how big it needs to be to read from the kerb, what the lid colours mean, and how to make a sticker stay put on bin plastic.
Where should the sticker go on a wheelie bin?
The upper front of the bin body, just under the lid, is the best spot. It faces the street when the bin is out for collection, it is the flattest part of the bin, and it stays clear of the handle and the hinge.
- Front, under the lid — read from the kerb and the footpath. The one place every bin should have a number.
- On top of the lid — read from the driveway or a balcony. A good second sticker for unit blocks, where bins are stored side by side.
- Avoid the hinge, the handle, ribbed or textured areas, and anything the council has already marked on the bin, such as a serial number, a barcode or a collection chip.
How big should a wheelie bin sticker be?
Big enough to read from the kerb or the end of the driveway, around 4 metres away. Sign makers work on roughly 1cm of letter height for every 1.2 metres, so you want numbers at least 3.5cm tall.
| What it says | Good size |
|---|---|
| House number only | 10 × 10cm |
| Big, bold number for a long driveway | 12.5 × 12.5cm or 15 × 15cm |
| Number and street name | 15 × 7.5cm or 15 × 10cm |
| Unit number and building name | 15 × 10cm |
Keep the number as the biggest thing on the sticker. A street name in smaller letters underneath helps when bins end up a few houses away, but nobody needs to read it from across the road. Not sure how a size will look? Try it on a bin in our decal size planner.
What do the bin lid colours mean?
Most Australian councils follow the lid colours set out in the Australian Standard for mobile waste containers, AS 4123.7. The common scheme is:
| Lid colour | Usually for |
|---|---|
| Red | General waste: anything that can't be recycled or composted |
| Yellow | Mixed recycling |
| Lime green | Garden organics, and in many councils food and garden organics (FOGO) |
| Purple | Glass, mainly in Victoria |
Councils differ, especially for food organics and glass, so your council's website has the final word on what goes in which bin. A sticker on the lid saying what belongs in it can help in share houses and holiday rentals.
Is it okay to put a sticker on a council bin?
In most places, yes. Wheelie bins usually belong to the council rather than the household, but many councils encourage households to mark bins with their address, and some hand out number stickers themselves. The sensible rule is not to cover anything the council has put on the bin. If you are unsure, check your council's waste page.
Will a sticker stay on bin plastic?
Wheelie bins are made of a slick, waxy plastic that is harder for any adhesive to grip than glass or paint. A vinyl sticker will hold well if the surface is right:
- Wash the spot with warm soapy water to remove dirt and grease, then rinse and dry it completely.
- Apply on a mild, dry day, out of direct sun. Cold plastic and hot plastic both make it harder for the adhesive to take.
- Press it down firmly from the centre outwards, paying extra attention to the edges.
- Give it a day before hosing the bin or putting it out for the truck. The adhesive keeps building its grip for a while after it goes on.
Every sticker we print is vinyl with a protective laminate, rated for up to five years outdoors, so the number holds up to sun and rain. More application tips are in our guide to applying a vinyl decal without bubbles.
Numbering a whole block of units?
Strata managers, property managers and real estate agents often number every bin in a building at once. Each address is its own design, so the simplest approach is to send us the list of unit numbers and we will quote the whole set. For a single household, ten stickers covers every bin with spares for when a bin is replaced.
For house numbers, a die cut sticker at 10 × 10cm is a good start, or a rectangle for a number with the street name. We print in Sydney within 1–2 business days and ship free Australia-wide.
