VicRoads code of practice for skip bins (January 2001)

What it isA 2001 guideline the councils still name

The code, dated January 2001, gives guidelines for placing and using waste bins safely on footpaths, nature strips, roads and in public places. It lists its endorsers as VicRoads, LGPro, the Municipal Association of Victoria and the Victorian Waste Management Association. VicRoads’ web page for the code, read on 9 October 2026, names the Department of Transport and Planning in the list where the 2001 document names VicRoads.

Its guidelines are common to all municipalities, but each council may have more policies, conditions and local laws of its own, and the code leaves any permit fee to the council. Councils name it in different ways. Bayside gives its January 2001 date, Monash calls it the Department of Transport’s code, and Yarra and Stonnington refer to VicRoads’ guidelines for placing skips. Port Phillip and Glen Eira require a skip’s location to meet it, Whitehorse requires a skip’s placement to conform to it, and Boroondara uses it to define the reflective tape and the supplier’s and driver’s duties.

The code also quotes two laws as they stood when it was written: the Road Safety (Road Rules) Regulations 1999 and the Local Government Act 1989. This guide does not restate them as today’s law.

PlacementWhere the code says a bin should go

Off the road first. The code says bins should go on roads, streets or in public places only when there is not enough space or access within the hirer’s premises, and after the council has given written permission. Any resident immediately affected, whose access the bin would restrict, must give consent. A supplier or driver in doubt about a spot should ask the responsible authority, mainly the council, and the bin should sit so vehicle access is not affected.

Places to keep a bin clear of, given in the January 2001 code as examples of where stopping is prohibited under the road rules of the time
Place	How far the code keeps a bin away
A road or area under a No Stopping or No Parking sign	Not on that length of road
Intersection with traffic lights	20 m
Intersection without traffic lights	10 m
School crossing, pedestrian crossing or bus stop	20 m before, 10 m after
Tram safety zone or tram stop	10 m before either; 10 m after a tram safety zone
Railway crossing	20 m on either side
Clearway, taxi or bus zone, or loading zone	Not in it
Median strip or traffic island	Not on it

The code says “should not” for these places; a council’s own conditions may differ.

VisibilityLights, tape and colour

For some time, the code says, a yellow flashing light on a corner was normal practice and generally a council requirement when a bin stood on a nature strip or road, to show it between sunset and sunrise. It calls yellow retroreflective tape on the corners a satisfactory, if not superior, alternative: less likely to be stolen or damaged, and needing no power. The tape must be kept clean, inspected regularly by the supplier, and replaced when damaged.

A council may still ask for flashing lights as well: where a supplier fails to maintain the tape, or where special conditions make a light useful, such as in a heavily trafficked area, where a road’s curves reduce visibility, where background lighting weakens the tape, in narrow streets, or in unlit areas. And bins should be bright in colour, easy to see by day and in the dark.

Appendix 1The upside-down L

Appendix 1 sets the marking. The material must be at least 50 mm wide, with a minimum of 200 mm across and 350 mm high. The code specifies yellow microprismatic retroreflective material bearing the European E marking on C class material.

Drawn from Appendix 1 of the VicRoads code of practice, January 2001. The figures are the code’s minimums; not to scale with any real bin.

The pattern is an inverted L as close as practical to each top corner, so the marks show the bin’s length, width and height, with the horizontal stem facing inwards. Marks at opposite ends of a side sit at the same height, and every side is marked. The code says the L lets an approaching driver work out which way the bin sits and where it is placed, and that the tape may run at angles other than 90 degrees to improve the bin’s look. Bins do not need the rear red and yellow marking plates or “Do Not Overtake Turning Vehicle” signs; those belong on the trucks that carry them.

ResponsibilitiesThe hirer’s part, and everyone else’s

The hirer of the bin is to make sure, where possible, that:

the bin is placed off the road;
it does not cause an obstruction;
all waste in it is secured and cannot easily be dislodged;
it is not left overloaded; and
it is made safe and removed when the council or the responsible authority says so.

The code adds that a bin may stand on a nature strip if it does not affect pedestrian access.

The supplier carries most of the rest. It keeps the bin in good order with its company name and phone number clearly visible, since a council will not allow bins without adequate identification on public streets. It obtains the council’s permit, gives proof of public liability insurance to the value a council sets, tells the hirer how to load against wind-blown litter, removes the bin within the allowed period, and fixes damage caused by placing or collecting it. The driver checks that the permit is in place before accepting the bin for delivery, places it by the permit conditions, and makes sure the hirer has had those conditions explained.

Each council’s guide shows how it uses the code: Boroondara, Yarra and Port Phillip, the south-east and Whitehorse and Banyule.