Dispose of tricky household waste

Council encourages residents to recycle whenever possible to help meet Waverley’s zero waste targets. Before disposing of your household materials in the garbage bin, please consider the special recycling, re-use and repurposing opportunities available locally.

   
  The quickest way to determine how to safely recycle and dispose of an item is to consult the A-Z Waste & Recycling Directory. You can also consult Planet Ark’s Recycling Near You.  
   


Below is a list of specialist drop-off points and events provided by Waverley Council or our partners.

You can visit Waverley Library or our Bondi Junction Customer Service Centre to drop off any of the below items:

  • Household batteries
  • Mobile phones and tablets
  • Printer cartridges
  • Light globes
  • Fluorescent tubes (Customer Service Centre drop-off only)
  • Oral care products
  • X-rays, CT Scans and MRIs

Recycle It Saturday drop off events are open to residents of Waverley Council, City of Sydney and Woollahra Municipal Council (proof of address required).  The 2025 events are scheduled for:

  • Saturday 22 February 2025
  • Saturday 24 May 2025
  • Saturday 23 August 2025
  • Saturday 22 November 2025

The Recycle It Saturday drop-off spot is Alexandra Canal Depot, 67C Bourke Road, Alexandria from 9 am - 3 pm (access to this location is via Bourke Road only). You can either drive through to do your drop-off, or there is a separate area for residents attending on foot / on a bike.

Please bring your items to drop off in reusable bags or boxes (only cardboard boxes will be taken for recycling). The items accepted at Recycle It Saturday are:

  • Aluminium coffee pods
  • Batteries (3 car battery limit)
  • Bicycles and scooters (no motorcycles)
  • Blister plasters (pill packets made of plastic and foil, empty or full)
  • Bulk cardboard
  • Camera film, x-rays and scans
  • Unusable clothes, bedding and textiles not suitable for second-hand sale
    • Stained, worn or torn clothes, uniforms, pairs of shoes, fabric hats
    • Blankets, doonas, quilts, sheets, towels, pillows, fabric mattress protectors and sleeping bags
    • Soft toys (batteries removed)
    • Cushions and curtains (with hooks and eyelets removed - cut off the top section)
    • Reusable shopping bags made from fabric
    • Rolls of fabric and offcuts
    • Items not good enough to be donated to charity
  • E-waste including electronics and batteries (essentially anything with a plug, a power cord or a battery)
  • Light bulbs and tubes
  • Household gas cylinders
  • Mobile phones
  • Polystyrene / Styrofoam in sheet form (not loose form such as bean bag filling)
  • Small metal items weighing less than 10kg each
  • Used printer cartridges that are Planet Ark eligibleThis external link will open in a new window
  • X-ray, MRI and CT scans/film out of envelopes
  • Paint - water and oil-based accepted (residential quantities only, not business)

The following items are not accepted at Recycle It Saturday:

  • Anything flammable or hazardous, such as hazardous chemicals or commercial/construction waste
  • White goods such as washing machines or dryers (if you can't carry it, don't bring it)
  • Mattresses
  • Furniture
  • Undergarments and socks
  • Backpacks and suitcases
  • Plastic mattress protectors
  • Soft plastics
  • Clothes, textiles and toys that can be resold (please donate these to a charity shop)
  • Carpets, rugs, curtains with eyelets, textile items with electric components such as electric blankets
  • Board games or hard toys
  • Smoke alarms and fire extinguishers

Man holding a computer unit and a woman in a car

Photo credit: Cassandra Hannagan

Take chemicals and hazardous materials such as paints, oils and smoke detectors to an EPA Chemical CleanOut event or a Community Recycling Centre.

The closest centre to Waverley residents is the Randwick Community Recycling Centre managed by Randwick City Council. The following hazardous materials are accepted::

  • Fluorescent globes and tubes
  • Gas bottles and fire extinguishers
  • Household and car batteries
  • Motor oil and other oils (cooking etc)
  • Paints (water, oil and solvent based)
  • Smoke detectors

For opening hours and location, consult the Randwick City Council website. Please note Waverley residents can only take the above items (not the full list of items available to Randwick City Council residents which may be listed on their website).

If you or a family member uses needles, syringes or lancets for health reasons, you can safely dispose of them at any of the participating chemists and pharmacies below in one of the following:

  • sharps container
  • sturdy plastic, puncture-resistant container (not glass)
  • container suggested by your chemist.

No loose needles, syringes or lancets will be accepted.

Basgers Pharmacy
1 Mitchell St, North Bondi

Blooms the Chemist Bondi Junction
Shops 5-9 Eastgate Shopping Centre, Bondi Junction

Charing Cross Pharmacy
7 Albion St, Waverley

Fresh Therapeutics Bondi
Shop 6015 Westfield, Bondi Junction

Glenayr Pharmacy
114 Glenayr Avenue, Bondi

Priceline Pharmacy Bondi Junction Mall
183-193 Oxford Street

Ramsay Pharmacy Bondi
165 Bondi Road, Bondi

Ropers Seaside Pharmacy
31 Campbell Parade, North Bondi

Below is a list of specialist drop-off points and recycling opportunities provided by third-party organisations in the local area. Still not sure what to do with your item? Consult the A-Z Waste & Recycling Directory.

Televisions, computers, and other electronic appliances contain hazardous components that can affect our environment and health if sent to landfill.

Dispose of e-waste via:

  • Council’s Recycle It Saturday drop off events (details above)
  • Whirl Recycling will collect most e-waste from your home.
  • Tech Collect have a Bondi Junction drop-off point for computers, printers, tablets and computer peripherals.
  • Mobile phones and tablets can be donated to The Reconnect Project or dropped off at Council’s own Problem Waste stations (details above). Apple brand devices can also be recycled at any Apple Store.

For clothing that can be re-sold or re-used, consult the below organisations if they will accept you item:

For items that cannot be re-used, dispose of them at:

  • Council’s Recycle It Saturday Drop Off Events (details above)
  • H&M and Zara stores have disposal bins in-store for clothing
  • Sheridan stores have disposal bins in-store for sheets and towels
  • Upparel and After offer textile recycling pick-up for a fee

The EPA regularly host Chemical CleanOut events with a collection point in Clovelly for several dangerous items including paint, chemicals, batteries and poisons.

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