E-waste and batteries
E-waste is any electronic item that has a plug, battery or cord.
It contains hazardous materials such as lead, mercury and other chemicals that can harm the environment if sent to landfill. These substances can contaminate soil, water and air and may take many years to break down.
The Victorian Government banned all e-waste from landfill in July 2019.
Recycling e-waste helps recover valuable materials including aluminium, copper, gold, silver, glass and plastic, so they can be reused instead of wasted.
Where to recycle e-waste
We offer several convenient locations to help you safely recycle your unwanted electronic items.
Resource recovery facilities
Our resource recovery facilities accept a range of household electrical appliances for free.
This includes:
- Mobile phones and chargers
- Desktop computers and laptops
- Computer accessories (mice, keyboards, monitors, printers, scanners)
- Televisions, DVD players and VCRs
- Whitegoods and any appliance with a power plug or cord
Other locations
You can take small items like batteries (including embedded batteries), vapes, mobile phones and tablets, chargers and household cables to:
New small e-waste drop-off locations
Recycling your small electronic items is now easier than ever, with 3 new collection cabinets available at:
- Riddells Creek Neighbourhood House
- Gisborne Library
- Woodend Library
These purpose-built cabinets provide a safe and convenient way to dispose of everyday items that don’t belong in your household bins.
What you can drop off
- Household Batteries
- Embedded batteries (electric toothbrushes, wireless headphones, portable speakers, gaming controllers, etc)
- Mobile phones and tablets
- Chargers and household cables
- Vapes
- Other small electronic items
Why it matters
Small e-waste items often contain valuable materials that can be recovered and reused, as well as components that can be harmful if sent to landfill. By using these new collection points, you’re helping to protect the environment and support responsible recycling.
Quick tips before you drop off
- Remove any personal data from devices where possible
- Keep items loose (no bags or packaging)
- Only place accepted items in the cabinets
Mobile phone recycling
Mobile phones, batteries, chargers and accessories are not biodegradable and should not be thrown in the rubbish bin where they will end up in landfill.
More than 90% of the materials in mobile phones can be recovered for re-use. They contain many useful metals like copper, silver and gold as well as plastic.
Resource recovery facilities
We accept mobile phones for free at our resource recovery facilities.
MobileMuster
You can recycle old mobile phones, handsets, batteries, chargers and accessories at MobileMuster collection points, or post them free of charge to MobileMuster.
Find a collection point near you or download your free postage mailing label.
Cartridges 4 Planet Ark
To help make your home or office a little greener, you can now drop off your used or empty laser and ink-jet cartridges at all of our customer service centres. Any toner or ink cartridge from a fax, photocopier or printer from a participating brand will be accepted at Council resource recovery facilities, customer service centres and some neighbourhood houses.
Planet Ark aims to return cartridges to their original producers to be re-manufactured. The rest are dismantled and used to make products like pens, rulers, outdoor furniture and white goods.
To find out more, visit Cartridges 4 Planet Ark or Recycling near you.
Do not put e-waste in any of your kerbside bins.
Learn more about e-waste recycling through Sustainability Victoria.