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E-waste recycling

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Reduce the amount of e-waste that gets sent to landfill. Find out where to recycle your old devices.

What is e-waste?

E-waste is any electronic product or device that no longer works or you don’t need anymore.

Items include anything that needs electricity or a battery to work, such as:  

  • batteries
  • computers and laptops
  • keyboards or a mouse
  • LED light bulbs
  • mobile phones
  • small and large household appliances
  • toys and gadgets
  • TVs and speakers.

E-waste should not be disposed of in landfill. E-waste contains valuable materials such as gold, copper and platinum that can be extracted and turned into other products.

Council’s 4 resource recovery centres have specialist recycling facilities to help you recycle all the items that can’t go in the yellow bin at home. E-waste, including batteries, are accepted for free. When you arrive, follow the yellow lines to the recycling facility.

mdi alert yellow

Important things to know

  • Don't put e-waste in your red, yellow or green wheelie bins. All batteries (dead or damaged) are considered e-waste.
  • E-waste, including all batteries, if placed in wheelie bins can cause fires in the collection trucks.
  • When recycling or donating devices, ensure you wipe your personal data prior to dropping them off.

What can we do about e-waste?

The top priority is to prevent e-waste from occurring in the first place (reduce), followed by extending the life of e-products (reuse) and responsibly disposing of e-products when they are no longer usable (recycle).

Reduce

  • If you need to buy new, choose high-quality, versatile products over cheap products.
  • Look into renting or hiring e-products that are only required for a short time period such as power tools or cleaning equipment.

Reuse

  • Consider buying secondhand, as you can often find higher-quality products at lower prices.
  • Donate e-products that are in good working order to op-shops or organisations, such as:
  • Phone first to check if your preferred organisation collects these items.

Recycle

Where to recycle e-waste

Find out where to recycle common e-waste items and devices.

Batteries can be recycled at any B-cycle drop-off point, including Council's resource recovery centres all year round. Some community recycling hubs also accept batteries.

To find your nearest drop-off point, visit the Recycle Mate website. 

Important things to know

  • When storing dead batteries at home, tape the terminals (ends) and store them in a glass container with a loose lid to reduce fire risk.
  • Keep mobile phone batteries inside the phone and deposit the device at a mobile phone drop-off location.
  • Damaged batteries (cracked, smashed, swollen or leaking) require special handling due to fire and explosion risks. For damaged batteries:
    • Wear gloves and protective clothing to avoid contact with corrosive or toxic battery acid and vapours
    • Tape the terminals using clear sticky tape or electrical tape
    • Place leaking batteries in a sealed plastic bag, or a non-metallic container (e.g. glass jar without an airtight lid)
    • Place swollen or damaged lithium batteries (commonly found in mobile phones) in a fireproof container or surround them with a non-conductive material such as sand. Do not remove lithium batteries from the device.
    • Do not stack or pile damaged batteries together
    • Transport the contained battery to a Council resource recovery centre
    • Never store damaged batteries indoors. E-waste bins should be kept in well-ventilated outdoor areas away from direct sunlight, heat sources, and flammable materials.

Computers that are still functional can be sent to organisations like Computers 4 Learning. These computers are refurbished and provided back to the community at affordable prices.

Computers that are no longer operational can be recycled.

Visit the Planet Ark to find a computer recycling drop-off point near you.

You can recycle all brands of mobile phones and accessories through the MobileMuster recycling program. Visit a Council library to drop off your mobile phones or the MobileMuster website for alternative drop-off locations.

You can recycle TVs at Councils resource recovery centres and participating electrical goods retailers. Visit Planet Ark to find a TV recycling drop-off point near you.

Small appliances (such as microwaves, toasters, printers and small fridges) and large appliances (such as fridges, washing machines and dryers) can be dropped off at Council's resource recovery centre. 

Household appliances and white goods (smaller than two cubic metres) can also be placed on the kerb during your suburb’s next large item kerbside collection.