Disposing of problem waste

Community Recycling Centres are drop-off centres for common household problem wastes that can't be collected via our kerbside waste and recycling collection services.

We have Community Recycling Centres at Taree Waste Management Centre, Gloucester Waste Management Centre and Tuncurry Waste Management Centre.

Household problem waste can also be dropped off free of charge to any of our Waste Management Centres, just check the opening hours of your closest centre.

Some of the most common problem waste items we collect are:

• Gas bottles
• Paint
• Motor oils
• Household and car batteries
• All light globes including fluoro globes and tubes
• Smoke detectors 
• Fire extinguishers 
• Old x-rays
• Electronic waste like old mobile phones and computers
• Block polystyrene packaging

This is a fantastic initiative that provides residents with a free, safe and environmentally friendly way of disposing of problem waste and we encourage the community to take advantage of this service.

Dispose of old mattresses at one of our waste management centres.

Refer to fees and charges for the cost of disposal.

At our waste management centres we remove any metal from mattresses and recycle it.

It is illegal to leave mattresses, or any item on the kerbside, in streets or isolated areas. This is illegal dumping and can result in heavy fines.

Tyres can be disposed of at any of our waste management centres. 

Disposal is limited to domestic quantities of 10 tyres of less. All tyres must be clean and not covered in mud, oil, paint, barnacles or other substances that would prevent them being recycled. The fees to dispose of tyres can be found in our Fees and Charges.

Disposal of over 200kg of waste tyres must be notified using our application to dispose form.

It is illegal to dispose of asbestos waste in domestic garbage bins. It is also illegal to re-use, recycle or illegally dump asbestos products. 

All friable asbestos should only be removed by a specialised asbestos removal contractor with a friable asbestos licence. Licenced contractors can be found in the Yellow Pages under asbestos removal and/or treatment.

Asbestos must be disposed of at a licenced landfill. Asbestos is accepted at the following locations only (it is no longer accepted at the Tuncurry Waste Management Centre):

• Taree Waste Management Centre - 6843 The Bucketts Way, Tinonee.
• Gloucester Waste Management Centre - 385 Thunderbolts Way, Gloucester.

You are required to complete the 'Application to dispose of asbestos' form below.

Application to dispose of asbestos form

Asbestos fibres are extremely hazardous. Breathing in dust containing asbestos fibres can cause asbestosis and lung cancers.

It's really important to note that if you do need to work with any material that may contain asbestos, you must take all the necessary precautions to protect yourself and minimise the release of dust or small particles from the asbestos materials that may affect others in the property.

Buildings, houses and flats erected before the mid 1980s may contain asbestos. Examples of where asbestos can be commonly found in buildings include

• fibro sheeting (commonly found in older garages, bathrooms, kitchens, laundries and external walls)
• roofs (including eaves and gables)
• vinyl tiles and backing
• guttering and
• drainage and flue pipes.

More information on identifying asbestos can be found on the Asbestos in NSW website.

Further information regarding the removal of asbestos can be found on SafeWork New South Wales website.

Batteries are the most common form of household hazardous waste.

97% of batteries end up in landfill. That is about 8,000 tonnes each year.

All batteries, including single use batteries can be recycled.

Where can I take my batteries?

You can recycle household and car batteries free of charge at any of our Waste Management Centres. Bulahdelah, Gloucester, Stroud, Tea Gardens, Taree, Tuncurry

Household batteries can also be disposed free of charge at

• ALDI
• Bunnings
• Officeworks
• Woolworths

For locations visit B-cycle or visit Recycle Mate.

Disposing unwanted, out-of-date or leftover household chemicals correctly avoids these potentially hazardous materials causing harm to the environment or to us.

You can recycle motor and other oils and paints free of charge at any of our Community Recycling Centres. 

ChemClear

'ChemClear' offers a service for the safe collection and disposal of unwanted farm and industry chemicals, this program will help reduce the accumulation of chemical waste products in the community.

For further information and to arrange a booking visit the ChemClear website.

DrumMUSTER

Empty, cleaned, non-returnable crop production and on farm animal health chemical containers can be disposed of at the drumMUSTER collection compound at the Taree and Gloucester Waste Management Centres each Friday.

As part of the national program the containers are reconditioned and refilled, or processed and recycled.

Empty containers must have a drumMUSTER logo, be correctly cleaned (triple rinsed) and air dried, as they will be inspected as they are brought into the centre.

Unclean or partly filled containers will not be accepted.

For more information visit the drumMUSTER website or contact Council to make arrangements for the safe disposal of your chemical containers.

Commercial loads of clean concrete waste, including concrete slabs, concrete roof tiles, bricks and pavers, can be dropped off for recycling at our Taree, Stroud, Tuncurry and Gloucester Waste Management Centres.

Due to the high risk of asbestos contamination and to meet EPA acceptance standards, loads must be booked in at least 24 hours prior to drop-off, and will be inspected by facility staff prior to unloading. Suspect loads will be rejected and directed to landfill, attracting unsorted disposal fees.

Please complete the form below to book your load in, indicating your preferred location, date and time of drop-off. Check the hours of operation for our Waste Management Centres before completing the form.

Please note: Mixed building waste is not accepted as concrete waste. It will be directed to landfill and attract unsorted disposal fees. This includes:

• Concrete, bricks or roof tiles mixed with other demolition waste
• Ceramics, including tiles and bathroom fixtures
• Fibre cement or compressed cement materials
• Plastic or soil
• Asbestos containing materials (refer to conditions and requirements for Asbestos handling and disposal)
• Bathroom and kitchen renovation waste material

Complete the form

E-waste

You can recycle your sorted e-waste for free at all our Waste Management Centres.

e-waste includes:

• all televisions (CRTs & flat screens)

• computer monitors

• laptops

• towers (hard drives)

• keyboards

• mice, joysticks

• faxes, multi functions, printers

• gaming consoles and accessories

• VCR’s, DVD & CD players including burners

• digital cameras, video cameras

• iPods, iPads, tablets

• micro stereos

Please note, if e-waste items are mixed in with general waste, you will be charged for the load.

We are part of a nationwide MobileMuster program, which keeps old mobile phones, batteries and accessories out of landfill by recycling them in a safe, secure and ethical way. Many of the materials used to make a phone can be reused, including nickel, gold, silver, cadmium and cobalt, as well as most plastics. 

This free recycling service is a not for profit program.  It is owned and funded by the majority of mobile handset manufacturers and all network carriers.

Where can I take my phone?

You can recycle your old mobile phones and accessories at our Waste Management Centres as well as drop off bins located at:

• Taree Library

• Harrington Library

• Hallidays Point Library

• Wingham Library

Alternatively, you can post them in using either a free recycling satchel available from Australia Post outlets or download a mailing label from www.mobilemuster.com.au

Please remember to delete all personal information from your handset and remove the sim card before taking your phone to be recycled.

Sharps, needles and syringes should never be put in with the garbage or recycling and are a hazard to the community if they are discarded unsafely or make their way into landfills or recycling centres.

They must be put into special NSW Needle and Syringe Program (NSP) Outlets. These bins are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Visit the NSW Health website to find out where they are located.

For the clean-up of discarded needles and syringes found in public places, call the NSW Needle Clean Up Hotline on 1800 633 353.

Printer cartridges are made up of a complex combination of plastics, metals, foam, ink and toner. Throwing them into landfill is a waste of resources and contributes to the growing problem of electronic waste. By recycling your cartridges, you are helping to reduce this waste. 

Where can I take my toner cartridges?

You can recycle your toner cartridges as well as old mobile phones and household batteries free at the following e-waste stations:

• Gloucester Visitor Information Centre

• Taree Library

• Harrington Library 

• Hallidays Point Library 

• Wingham Library 

• Taree Waste Management Centre

• Tuncurry Waste Management Centre

Free drop-off for vapes is now available at all of our Waste Management Facilities. Vapes are extremely hazardous if they enter any bin due to the lithium batteries and the risk of fire, so if you have vapes, or find any, please drop them to one of our facilities for recycling.

Find your nearest Waste Management Facility.