From asbestos and batteries to chemicals, e-waste and gas bottles, find out how to safely dispose of hazardous and other difficult-to-manage waste across our shire responsibly and locally.
From asbestos and batteries to chemicals, e-waste and gas bottles, find out how to safely dispose of hazardous and other difficult-to-manage waste across our shire responsibly and locally.
At Bairnsdale Landfill and participating transfer stations:
At other locations:
For Hazardous Waste – fees and charges, see Landfill and Transfer Stations.
Asbestos is a health hazard when it is broken, degraded or snapped and its fine dust is inhaled. It was commonly used in Australian buildings until the 1980s and can be found in cement sheeting, vinyl flooring, chimney flues, window putty, skirting boards, down pipes and more. It has also recently been detected in coloured sand products used in play and craft activities which the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) have now recalled.
A-Z of asbestos-containing materials
Asbestos in coloured sand information sheet
Steps for removing asbestos
Asbestos must be:
Asbestos can ONLY be disposed of at Bairnsdale Landfill. Deliveries require 24 hours' notice, and an appointment must be made prior. Fees are available here: Waste Disposal Fees.
More details on safe asbestos disposal.
Batteries must never go in your household bins or street litter bins. They can start catastrophic fires when compacted in our trucks and facilities, endangering our drivers, operators, the community and the environment. They can also cause dangerous, long-burning fires in landfill that are extremely difficult to extinguish.
You can recycle household batteries at Council libraries and service centres, waste and recycling transfer stations, many supermarkets and hardware stores, and participating battery retailers. Find a location here: B-Cycle drop-off point
Car and truck batteries – FREE recycling at Bairnsdale Landfill or transfer stations.
Battery recycling tips
Our shire has many beautiful camping locations and waterways to go boating. Here’s some tips on how to dispose of your waste to keep these areas pristine.
Take your recycling and general waste to Bairnsdale Landfill or your closest transfer station.
Camping solar panels for charging batteries and small camping lights are accepted as e-waste for free disposal at Bairnsdale Landfill and certain transfer stations (Bairnsdale, Bruthen, Lakes Entrance, Mallacoota, Metung, Omeo, Orbost).
Disposing of toilet waste properly when bushwalking or camping helps protect our beautiful waterways, forests, beaches and wildlife, and prevents the spread of disease.
Toilet waste collected in portable toilets and caravans can be disposed of at various dump points. Charges may apply at some locations.
Gippsland Ports and other agencies provide waste and sewerage disposal facilities for waterways in Gippsland.
Carbonating cylinders for drinks can usually be taken back to the place of purchase for exchange or refund when empty.
Detox Your Home is a free service provided by us and Sustainability Victoria, which helps residents safely dispose of common household chemicals, rather than putting them in the bin or pouring them down the drain.
Household chemicals include weedkiller, pesticides, cleaning chemicals, pool chemicals, paint-stripper, solvents, etc. See full list of accepted items here.
Our 2025 event safely collected and processed over four tonnes of hazardous chemicals from East Gippsland.
E-waste is anything electronic with a plug, cord or rechargeable/replaceable battery including computers, televisions, appliances, tools, phones, lights and more. It contains valuable resources such as metals (copper, aluminium, steel, gold, silver), plastics and glass. E-waste is sorted at Bairnsdale Landfill and participating transfer stations before being going to a specialised facility that extracts and recycles materials into new items.
Recycling e-waste is FREE – at Bairnsdale Landfill or participating transfer stations. Please don’t put e-waste in any of your household rubbish bins.
DV Safe Phones – Collects, repurposes and gifts mobile phones to victims of domestic violence, providing them with a vital way to call emergency services or helplines for assistance. They provide several phone drop-off points.
Mobile Muster – A free, not-for-profit recycling program provided by the Australian telecommunications industry. It helps safely and securely recycle your old, broken mobile phones, chargers and accessories.
Paint tins (wet, dry or empty) MUST NOT be placed in any household or street litter bins.
Please take unwanted paint tins to Bairnsdale Landfill:
Alternatively, contact your local Men’s Shed group to see if they are interested in any paint donations. Please contact them first to make sure they can accept the donation.
Gas bottles must not go in any household or street litter bins, even when bottles are empty.
Your 4kg and 9kg gas bottles can be returned at most Swap'n'Go locations.
Your 45kg gas bottles are usually owned by the supplier, please contact them directly regarding collection or appropriate disposal.
Gas bottles can be disposed of for a fee at Bairnsdale Landfill or the following transfer stations:
For opening times see our Landfill and Transfer Stations page.
Unwanted or used fire extinguishers cannot be placed in any household or street litter bins.
To dispose of them correctly, please attend an upcoming Detox Your Home event or call the Country Fire Authority on 1300 363 661 to find out which local brigades will accept them.
For more information on detox your home, please visit Sustainability Victoria's website.
Old petrol and machinery fuel MUST NOT be placed in any household or street litter bins.
To dispose of it correctly, please attend an upcoming Detox Your Home event.
Unwanted or used flares CANNOT be placed in any household or street litter bins.
New or expired flares can be disposed of at:
Hazardous waste from home-based medical or health treatments MUST NOT be placed in any household waste or street litter bins as it can harm waste workers and the community.
Illegally dumped rubbish and litter is bad for the environment and costly for Council, resulting in greater costs to ratepayers. Don’t let illegal dumpers get away with it!
Everyone is responsible for helping the reduce risks to human health and the environment from pollution and waste. Victoria’s General Environmental Duty outlines reasonable and practical steps on how to reduce these risks and applies to all households and businesses.
Littering (small scale) and illegal dumping (large scale) are criminal offences that cause environmental damage by disposing of waste on public or private land without authorisation.
Rubbish dumping and littering on public land is illegal with a maximum penalty of $3,951,800 for businesses and $800,000 for individuals or five years imprisonment, or both.
All Victorians have a part to play in preventing waste dumping. If you witness someone dumping waste illegally or littering, record the location, date, time and other important details (e.g. car registration) and report it to Council. The Council has officers authorised under the Environment Protection Act (2017) to investigate dumped litter. Your call will be treated confidentially. Alternatively, you can report illegal dumping directly to the EPA on 1300 372 842 or online.
Littering from a vehicle can also be reported, whether the littering is from inside a vehicle, just before they get into a vehicle, or just after they get out of a vehicle.
What to include in your report
When making your report, the more information you give us the quicker we can respond. Please tell us:
Your report can be anonymous, but then we can’t send you updates about your report or contact you if we need more information.
Council supports community to safely collect litter in East Gippsland with clean-up kits containing gloves, bags and more from Clean up Australia all year round.