A to Z of Waste Disposal
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Baths, bathroom sinks, vanity
Drop off for recycling at Kimbriki. Donate to a second-hand building materials supplier. Sell in local papers, trading post or e-bay. Try the Australian Recycling Community.
Batteries
Car batteries can be taken to the next Household Chemical CleanOut Collection for recycling, or Belrose Waste and Recycling Centre or Kimbriki.
Household batteries can be recycled for free through Battery World, 5 Mitchell Road, Brookvale, call 9939 2439 or in the Battery World bin at Council's Civic Centre, Dee Why. Warringah Council encourages using rechargeable batteries to reduce the amount of toxic waste going to landfill.
See Mobile Phones below for mobile phone battery recycling.
Business
This free, online directory contains information about recycling and waste disposal services for Australian small to medium-sized businesses is now available. Recycling Directory for Business
Carry Bags – plastic
Refer to Plastic Bags – supermarket.
Cartridges – printer
Ask your current cartridge provider whether they have a recycling program.
Alternatively, Cartridges 4 Planet Ark campaign has set up special printer cartridge recycling bins at Australia Post, Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Tandy, Dick Smith Electronics and Powerhouse stores. For further information, or for Warringah businesses wanting free cartridges recycling pick up, call the Cartridges 4 Planet Ark hotline on 1800 24 24 73.
Charity Stores
Many charity stores will accept your unwanted household items and clothing. Visit Planet Ark to find local charity stores and identify accepted items.
Chemical Collection
The Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW runs free chemical collection days at various sites throughout the year. The collection accepts all household chemicals. For more information call Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW on 131 555 or visit CleanOut.
Computers
Click here to view E-waste information on and disposal options.
Construction and Demolition Waste
Visit Planet Ark for information on minimising and recycling construction and demolition waste. Find out if there is a drop off location near you collecting construction and demolition waste.
Corks
If you have small quantities of corks, place them in a satchel or box and post to:
The Watershed Shopfront, 218 King Street, Newtown NSW 2042.
Electrical Goods
Appliances in good condition are accepted by Vinnies Brookvale, 638 Pittwater Road, ph 9905 0424.
Small electrical appliances made of metal are accepted free of charge at Kimbriki.
Electronic Goods
See Computers, Mobile Phones, Fridges, Cartridges. Also visit Planet Ark for more information on electronic goods recycling.
Flares - distress signals from boats (requirement of NSW Maritime)
It is compulsory to carry distress flares on boats in NSW. Flares are classified as an explosive. Contact the manufacturer or supplier of out-of-date flares to dispose of the explosives for you. Alternatively, NSW Maritime headquarters on James Craig Road, Rozelle, will accept them. They must be sealed in a seal-lock bag and presented to reception. Office hours are 8:30am to 4:30pm.
Phone 13 12 56 (select option 2).
Food
In NSW 35 per cent of domestic waste going to landfill is from food* which creates greenhouse gases. Compost bins, worm farms and chickens are great ways to reduce your food waste. Kimbriki conducts workshops on setting up wormfarm and compost bins, call 9486 3512.
*Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW, ‘Waste Avoidance & Resource Recovery Progress Report’, 2008
Fridges
Fridge Buyback – free in-home collection of old second fridge. Conditions apply. A $35 payment is given for removal from a residence of 6 stairs or less. If you have a working second fridge that is at least 10 years old and larger than 250L you can save both energy and money by contacting Fridge Buyback on 1800 708 401 or visit www.fridgebuyback.com.au. Save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions!
Harvey Norman Store at Balgowlah (76-190 Condamine Street) will take back white goods such as fridges, washing machines, etc for recycling, only upon purchase and delivery of new goods.
Guttering – Metal
Drop off for recycling at Kimbriki. Donate to second-hand building materials suppliers. Sell in local papers, trading post or on E-bay. Try Australian Recycling Community. Refer to your local Yellow Pages directory for a list of metal recyclers.
Household Items (eg furniture, clothing, books) in good condition
Warringah Council encourages reusing where possible. Pass on household items at a car boot sale, garage sale, by telling friends and neighbours, placing an ad in the paper, putting up posters on a community noticeboard or at work. Give it away online at www.freecycle.org (follow links to Australia then Sydney North),
www.E-cycled.com and www.ozrecycle.com/, sell it online, donate it to auction houses or swap.
Junk Mail
If you want to stop receiving junk mail, put a NO JUNK MAIL sticker on your letterbox. These are available for free from the Distribution Standards Board, phone 1800 676 136. To stop junk mail that is addressed to a household resident, register with the Australian Direct Marketing Organisation. If you still receive advertising mail you don’t want, call the Distribution Standards Board.
Light Globes and Florescent Tubes
These are now accepted at the Household Chemical CleanOut collections.
Mattresses
Warringah encourages residents to recycle their mattresses instead of sending them to landfill. Visit Dreamsafe Recycling Pty Ltd or call them on 1300 551 245 to have your mattress picked up from your house and recycled. Fees apply, approximately $25 per mattress and $25 per mattress base. Alternatively, wait for the Bulky Goods Clean up in your area (occurs twice a year) or take it to directly to Kimbriki (charges apply) where they will be recycled.
Medicine
Mobile Phones & Batteries
Mobile phones and accessories can be recycled through the official mobile phone industry recycling program MobileMuster. Call 1300 730 070. Alternatively, Clean Up Australia collect and recycle mobile phones. To request a postage-paid satchel visit the website or call 8197 3400. Or you can donate your old mobile phone to Youcan.org.au. The phones are refurbished and sold and the money is used by CANTEEN to build specialised youth cancer centres for 15-30 year old cancer sufferers.
Office Furniture
Sell your office furniture in local papers, trading post or on E-bay. Try Reverse Garbage, ph 9569 3132 or The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre, ph 9658 6280.
Small, dry, empty paint tins can be placed in the yellow recycling bin. The Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW runs free chemical collection days at various sites throughout the year. The collection accepts all household chemicals including paint. For more information call Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water NSW on 131 555 or visit CleanOut.
Paint can also be taken daily to Belrose Transfer Station on Crozier Road, Belrose. Consolidate your oil based paint and in another container consolidate your water based paint. A maximum of 20L/day accepted, costs $3.50/litre. Empty paint tins will be recycled for free.
Belrose. Crozier Road, Belrose
6am to 5pm Monday to Friday
7am to 5pm Saturday
8am to 5pm Sunday
Pallets
Sell in local papers, trading post or on E-bay. Refer to your local Yellow Pages for a list of Pallet recyclers.
Perspex
Sell in local papers, trading post or on E-bay. Refer to your local Yellow Pages for a list of Perspex recyclers. Try Construction Connect, Australian Recycling Community or donate to Reverse Garbage Marrickville.
Pine – treated
Do not burn CCA or PCP-treated wood. Currently, small volumes of CCA-treated timber wastes or off-cuts from domestic or residential uses should be disposed of at Kimbriki. Treated timber has been listed as a “waste of concern” by the NSW Government under its extended producer responsibility policy. The timber industry is currently researching chemical-free wood preservation techniques for radiata pine (e.g. thermal modification).
Plastic bags – supermarket
Say NO to Plastic Bags when shopping, take reusable alternatives like calico, go-green polypropylene or string bags. Alternatively, recycle your plastic bags at local supermarkets such as Woolworths or Coles. Be careful to check which plastic bags are accepted at the recycling bins – they usually only accept the supermarket style shopping bag (HDPE), not the heavier bags used by other retailers (LDPE).
To find out how you or your business can get involved in Clean Up Australia’s ‘Say NO to Plastic Bags’ campaign visit www.cleanup.com.au or call 1800 024 890. Boutique plastic bags can be given to Charity shops
Reuse It – shops and websites
Don’t throw things away – someone else might be able to put it to good service.
- E-cycled.com or Freecycle Today are easy ways to get in touch with people in your area who are looking for things you don’t need any more and for finding things that you want.
- OzRecycle - Give away your items on Ozrecycle. Since it started in 2007, it has seen items such as pianos, cars, books, televisions, dolls, stamp collections, sewing machines and wedding dresses go to new homes.
- Reverse Garbage, located at the Addison Road Community Centre Marrickville, is a not-for-profit co-operative that sells industrial discards, off-cuts and over-runs to the public for creative and practical uses, reducing the amount of waste going to landfill, ph 9569 3132.
- The Bower Reuse and Repair Centre located at Addison Road, Community Centre at Marrickville accepts donations of household , building and office goods. It also offers a referral service if they are unable to accept donations. Ph: 9568 6280
- SydneyNorth ReUseIt - We live in a disposable society where many items are discarded long before they have outlived their use. The ReUseIt Network helps to find new uses for your unwanted items.
Return Unwanted Medicines
The OPAL/RUM project provides a convenient and environmentally responsible solution for the collection and disposal of unwanted medicines. Many pharmacies in the northern Sydney region act as collection points for unwanted and out-of-date medicines. Call OPAL/RUM on 1300 650 835 or visit www.returnmed.com.au.
Syringes / Sharps Disposal
There are a number of options for sharps disposal:
- Consult your local doctor or pharmacy to negotiate sharps disposal
- Contact Diabetes Australia NSW on 1300 136 588. It lists current sharps disposal sites in Sydney and sells sharps disposal containers. It also has a disposal facility at 26 Arundel St, Glebe.
- Alternatively, visit Clinic 16, Royal North Shore Hospital, Herbert Street, St Leonards or Mona Vale Hospital, Emergency Department, Coronation Street
Timber
Donate timber (un-treated) to a second-hand building materials supplier. Sell in local papers, trading post or on E-bay.
Toner Cartridges
See Cartridges – printer.
Toys
Peninsular Senior Citizens Toy Repair Group fixes used and unused toys and donates them to charities that care for children. They take all kinds of soft and educational toys, dolls, games and bikes (up to 20" wheel size). Please NO battery operated toys. Toys must be repairable. Drop of locations:
- Avalon, Belrose, Dee Why, Manly, Mona Vale and Warringah Mall libraries
- Kimbriki or call 9486 3542
Whitegoods
Harvey Norman will accept white goods (fridges, washing machines) for recycling upon purchase and delivery of a new product, call 9948 4511. See also Fridges.
Window
Donate to a second-hand building materials supplier. Sell in local papers, trading post or on E-bay. Try the Australian Recycling Community.
X-rays
Xrays recycling:
Siltech NSW,
Unit 6/15 Rodborough Rd (PO Box 6175)
Frenchs Forest NSW 2086
Phone: 1300 SILTECH (1300 745 832) or (02) 9453 0811
Fax: (02) 9453 0822
info@siltech.com.au
