What you can take to Council's resource recovery centres

Brisbane City Council has four resource recovery centres (previously known as 'transfer stations'), located at Willawong, Chandler, Ferny Grove and Nudgee. Use this page to find out what you can take to our resource recovery centres.

For information about what you can put in your bins at home, download Council's free Brisbane Bin and Recycling app.

Items accepted for recycling

The following items can be dropped off at any resource recovery centre in a vehicle under 4.5 tonnes CGVM. When you arrive, inform weighbridge staff that you have recycling to drop-off first.

Accepted items

Waste typeExamplesRequirements
BatteriesSizes AAA-D, button batteries, rechargeable, lithium, lead acid car batteries, solar batteries, power banks
  • Household quantities only
  • Remove batteries from devices and appliances. If you can’t remove, inform staff
CardboardLarge cardboard from packaging
  • Flatten boxes first before dropping them off
Cooking oil-
  • Limited to 20 litres
Electronic wasteTVs, computers including portable data processing machines, monitors and projectors, printers, computer parts and peripherals
  • Household quantities only
  • Delete sensitive data and personal information from devices before recycling 1
  • Remove batteries from devices and appliances. If you can’t remove, inform staff
Engine oilUsed mineral engine oil
  • Limited to 100 litres
Fire extinguishers-
  • Limited to 9 kilograms
Gas bottles-
  • Must be empty
  • Maximum of 6, 9-kilogram gas bottles
Hard plasticsRigid plastics such as buckets, chairs, car bumpers, crates, plastic containers, plastic gardening pots and tubs-
Household recyclingAluminium cans, cardboard and paper, glass bottles and jars-
LightsFluorescent lighting tubes and bulbsOnly fluorescent lights
Metal

Steel, stainless steel, tin, iron, copper, aluminium

White goods and large appliances (e.g.: fridges, washing machines, dryers, freezers, air conditioners, ovens, cooktops)

Machinery such as whipper snippers, lawn mowers – fuel and oil must be drained

Small household appliances (e.g.: toaster, kettle) and other equipment with a power source

Other items such as cast-iron pipes, baths, copper coils, screen doors, trailers

  • Fuel and oil must be drained from machinery such as whipper snippers and lawn mowers
  • Remove batteries from devices and appliances for recycling. If you can’t remove, inform staff
Mobile phones-
  • Delete sensitive data and personal information from devices before recycling.1
PaintLiquid or solid paint, lead, water or oil-based
  • Limited to 100 litres in total and 20 litres per container
Tip: You can decant your unwanted paint into fewer tins of the same paint type. Let the paint dry out in your empty tins and place these in the metal recycling bins at the resource recovery centres.
PaperPaper for document destructionHousehold quantities only
PolystyreneLarge polystyrene blocks used for packaging
  • Must be clean, free from paint and glue 
  • Maximum of 5 cubic metres for free recycling, loads over this volume attract fees and charges)

Find out more about disposing of household hazardous waste.

It is important to delete data from your electronic devices such as mobile phones, computers, tablets and laptops before disposing of them to help prevent theft of your personal information (known as identity theft). Visit the MobileMuster website for tips on deleting data from mobile phones and the TechCollect website for deleting data from computers and other devices.

Items accepted for donation to Council's Treasure Troves

Council’s Treasure Troves prepare all reusable, donated items for sale. Proceeds go to the Endeavour Foundation to support people with a disability. Resource recovery centre staff may refuse to accept items for donation that are not considered saleable.

Advise staff at the weighbridge and the recycling area if your load includes the following items for donation.

Donatable items

  • artwork, antiques and sculptures
  • books
  • clothing - quality textiles and wearable resalable clothing
  • compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs) and records
  • furniture and other household items in good working order
  • kitchen utensils
  • luggage
  • musical instruments
  • shoes and bags
  • sporting equipment, including bikes and exercise equipment (no electrical equipment)
  • toys suitable for ages 3 and up in good condition (broken plastic toys can be recycled in the hard plastic recycling bin).

The Endeavour Foundation is unable to accept electronic or electrical items. These items can be donated to charities who accept them or placed in electronic waste (TVs, computers) or metal recycling (household appliances). Ask staff on site for more information.

Green waste

You can contribute to generating valuable compost for our local farms and gardens by recycling your green waste at the resource recovery centres. Disposal fees apply and you can pay by using waste vouchers (where applicable), card, or commercial account.

Accepted green waste

  • flowers and foliage
  • grass clippings
  • leaves
  • loose bark
  • palm fronds, twigs, branches
  • garden prunings from shrubs and trees (e.g., offcuts, roots, tubers)
  • weeds, ivy, creepers and vines.

Green waste not accepted

  • garden tools, hoses, gloves, fuel, oil, cans, plastic plant pots
  • pavers, logs and sleepers
  • dirt, gravel, rocks, soil and stones
  • tree stumps over 500 millimetres
  • treated and untreated building timber.

You can also recycle your green waste at home by:

General waste

You can take general waste to the resource recovery centres for disposal. Disposal fees apply and you can pay by using waste vouchers (where applicable), card, commercial account or cash.

Resource recovery centres do not accept the following materials:

Visit the Planet Ark Recycling Near You website for information about other recycling and disposal options.

Quantities of soil, concrete and masonry:

  • are accepted for domestic quantities only (equivalent to a trailer or ute load)
  • are not accepted for commercial quantities (equivalent to a truckload or more).

For large quantities, contact a recycling facility that accepts soil, concrete and masonry or a private landfill. Businesses reuse, recycle or reprocess these products to a saleable product.

Preparing your waste

Before leaving home, pack your load in the order you need to drop-off waste at the centres:

  • pack first (back of your vehicle/tray): general waste
  • pack second: green waste (keep separate from general waste)
  • pack last (front of vehicle): recycling items, which is the first drop-off point at the centres.

This packing order will reduce your time on site and save you money on waste disposal fees. Find out more information on using the resource recovery centres.

Arriving on site

Vehicle under 4.5 tonnes combined gross vehicle mass (CGVM)

RecyclingGreen waste and general waste

Step 1: Follow the yellow line to the drive-through recycling area to unload acceptable recycling materials and Treasure Trove donations for free.

Recycling first will reduce your general waste fees.

Step 2: Follow the green line to drop-off your green waste in the dedicated hardstand area.

Step 3: Follow the red line to drop-off your general waste last in the pit.

General waste and green waste disposal fees apply. Pay by waste vouchers, card, or cash.

Vehicle over 4.5 tonnes CGVM

Visit a major resource recovery centre, located at Nudgee and Willawong. Follow the red line and use the recycling bins located in the  general waste area.

Fees and charges apply for all waste types. Pay by card, cash, or commercial account. Waste vouchers are not accepted.

Last updated:
Topics: waste

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