Batteries, paint, e-waste: where Australia's tricky items actually go

Every household accumulates items that don't belong in any kerbside bin: the dead laptop in the drawer, half-tins of paint in the garage, a drawer of swollen batteries. Putting them in the red or yellow bin isn't just wrong — batteries alone cause hundreds of fires in garbage trucks and recycling facilities every year. The good news: there's a free, national drop-off network for almost all of it.

Batteries: never in any bin

All batteries — AA, button cells, power tool packs and phone batteries — belong at a dedicated collection point. B-cycle drop-off points sit in supermarkets, hardware stores and council facilities across the country. Tape the terminals of lithium and button batteries with sticky tape before storing them (contact between terminals is what sparks fires), and never hoard a swollen battery — take it in promptly. A jar under the sink, emptied every few months, is all the system you need.

E-waste: TVs, computers and small appliances

Televisions and computers are covered by the free National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme, with drop-off points at council transfer stations and participating retailers. Phones go to MobileMuster (Australia Post stores accept them), and many councils run periodic e-waste drop-off days for kettles, vacuums and other small appliances. Wipe your data first — a factory reset on phones and tablets, and a proper erase on old hard drives.

Paint and household chemicals

Leftover paint, solvents, pesticides, pool chemicals and old fuel are household hazardous waste. Every state runs a free disposal channel — Detox Your Home in Victoria, Household Chemical CleanOut events in NSW, and permanent hazardous waste facilities in WA, SA, Queensland, Tasmania and the territories. Keep chemicals in their original containers, never mix products, and transport them upright in a box in the boot. Empty, dry paint tins with the lid off can often go to scrap metal or the red bin — check your council.

The rest of the awkward shelf

• Light globes: fluorescent tubes and CFLs contain mercury — drop them at hardware store recycling points or council facilities. LEDs can usually go the same way.
• Medicines: return them to any pharmacy under the RUM (Return Unwanted Medicines) program — free, and far safer than the bin or the sink.
• Soft plastics: since REDcycle's collapse, options vary — check your council, as some areas now have replacement collections. Otherwise, soft plastics go in the red bin, never the yellow.
• Mattresses and whitegoods: book a council bulky waste (hard rubbish) collection or use a transfer station; many retailers take away old mattresses and fridges on delivery.
• Smoke alarms, gas bottles and fire extinguishers: transfer stations and council facilities — never kerbside.
• Coffee pods: many brands run free mail-back or store drop-off programs.

One habit that solves most of it

Keep a small "problem items" box in the laundry or garage — batteries, globes, dead gadgets — and empty it on your next trip past the shops or the transfer station. Your council website and the Planet Ark RecyclingNearYou directory will tell you exactly what goes where locally. And for the bins that do go to the kerb, BinMinder's free evening-before reminders keep rubbish, recycling and FOGO collections straight, matched to your address.