For most people, once they lift the lid and throw their rubbish in the wheelie bin, their household waste is out of sight, out of mind.

It's a mindset the Mindarie Regional Council in Western Australia is hoping to challenge by putting wheelie bin contents on display.

The MRC is WA's largest waste management authority and collects 250,000 tonnes of waste and recyclable material from Perth's northern suburbs.

There are no plans to put all residents' rubbish on display, just 20 transparent bins will be used by participating houses over eight weeks.

Gunther Hoppe, chief executive of the MRC, told ABC Radio Perth that the bins were intended as conversation starters.

"If you have lots of waste in your bin, we'd love people to have a conversation about reducing it," Mr Hoppe explained.

"Or if someone has a little bit of waste in the bin – we'd love people to ask their neighbour how they manage to get the waste so low.

"What we want people thinking about is how you go about reducing the amount of waste you produce."

And it's hoped that coming face-to-face with the inside of bins may change habits.

"The State Government has set a target that by 2020, they want 65 per cent of the material that we generate in our household to be diverted away from landfill," he said.

"Currently we are at about 50 per cent."

Facing your waste

But displaying your rubbish to the neighbours could bring unwelcome attention in your life, says Dr Trevor Thornton, a lecturer with the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University.

He told ABC Radio Perth Focus: "What could end up happening is that when you finish a bottle of wine and put it in the clear bin, people might say, 'Hmm, look at them, how much do they drink?'.

"Or people might start putting things in plastic bags and just hiding it.

Landfills around Australia are filling up and authorities are urging the public to reduce waste. ( ABC Goldfields-Esperance: Sam Tomlin )

"But if people say this is what it's about and look at it in a positive way, hopefully it will work."

It could also encourage people to be more thoughtful about how much waste they are generating and how they compare to their neighbours.

"How much food is going in the rubbish that could be composted?" Dr Thornton said.

"It's a chance to say, 'Hey, I didn't realise I was generating this much'."

But ABC Radio Perth listeners were not all convinced about the merits of putting their garbage on display.

Steve: "What a ridiculous initiative. People will just put stuff in the green rubbish bin instead so they don't look out of place or shamed."

Rob: "I would like to know what my neighbours are throwing out in their recycling bin but I doubt I would be able to see anything through all the beer bottles."

Gary: "Now, disparaging neighbours making judgments about what I put into my bin. What about identity theft? This is a really bad idea."

Linda: "I would be more than happy to have a clear recycle bin as all my recycling containers are washed before they are put in the bin and paper is sorted and clean."

More education on waste needed

Dr Thornton said the public was generally not well informed about waste management and what they could do to reduce the contents of their bins.

"We often talk about recycling, but what we have to do is try and encourage people to reduce the amount of waste they are generating.

"Education in waste management in the community is generally pretty poor."

Even recycling has become problematic after China announced a ban on importing foreign recycled material, leaving many depots around Australia with growing stockpiles of unprocessed plastic and glass.

Both customers and manufacturers need clarity about what can be recycled and what can't, the APCO says. ( ABC News: Guilio Saggin )

There is also widespread confusion about what can and can't be recycled, a move the Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation (APCO) is trying to reform.

APCO is working to create a standardised system that shows consumers what can be recycled.

"If you go through and look at different symbols and icons that indicate if something can be recycled, there are nearly 200," chief executive Brooke Donnelly told ABC Radio Perth Breakfast.

"What we are driving here is a consistent approach that is very clear and communicates to consumers what to do with the different types of packaging in your hand as you are standing at the bin."

Packaging confusion

Products may contain numerous pieces of packaging, some of which are recyclable and some are not, and the APCO wants everything to be clearly labelled.

"If you had a packet of crackers, they will have a plastic wrap around them and they will be sitting inside a tray, so there are two materials," Ms Donnelly said.

"What you would then [under the APCO labelling system] do is flip it over and it will say tray, and have a bin symbol, which means that particular tray can't be recycled, and it will say wrap, and it may say return to store to a soft plastic bin."

Getting items into the correct bin is more important as waste processors look for ways to develop a processing industry onshore.

"The issue with China was contamination in the waste stream — stuff in the recycling bins that can't be recycled," Ms Donnelly said.

"It's really important that industry and consumers keep the faith in recycling.

"Nobody anywhere is having any conversation that we are taking a step back from that."