Drop off for free

Household items to drop off for free 

Our waste management facilities accept household quantities of the following: (up to 20kg or 20 litres): 

• Bulk cardboard 
• Glass bottles and aluminium cans 
• Household oil and motor oil 
• Fluorescent light globes and tubes 
• Fire extinguishers 
• Empty gas bottles 
• Paints and solvents 
• Car and household batteries 
• E-waste such as computers, TVs and DVD players (more detail below) 
• Scrap metal such as bicycles, metal poles 
• Whitegoods such as fridges, washing machines, dryers, microwaves, metal appliances 
• Smoke Detectors

E-waste to drop off for free

Household quantities of the following items can be dropped off at our waste facilities for free: 

• Televisions (unbroken screens) 
• Computers (unbroken screens) 
• Towers 
• Computer accessories such as Keyboards, mouse, joysticks 
• VCRs, DVD players, gaming consoles, HiFi equipment 
• Faxes, printers and multi-functions 
• Laptops, tablets 
• Micro-stereos 
• Portable speakers 
• Hand-held game consoles 
• Small appliances

E-Waste that isn’t free
The following items are not accepted under the e-waste program and will be charged the minimum mixed waste charge: 

• Broken televisions/screens 
• Products contaminated with hazardous materials or foreign objects
  
  

It is important to keep your batteries separated and not put them in any bin. You can pick up a free reusable Battery Recycling Box from one of Council's Customer Service Counters or fill out our registration form and we will send you one.  Watch this video on how to put together your Battery Recycling Box.

Batteries from any household devices can be dropped off for free at a waste transfer station: 

• AA, AAA, C, and D cell batteries
• alkaline cell
• lithium
• 9-volt
• Cr123 camera batteries
• dry cell and zinc
• Li-ion batteries (from laptops, cameras, cell phones and tools)
• NiCd
• NiMH
• gel cell
• most damaged, leaking or rusty batteries

Vapes and batteries do not belong in bins. They can spark fires and put truck drivers and waste operators at risk.

You can now drop off your vapes, along with your batteries, for free, at any of the following waste transfer stations:

• Port Macquarie (Kingfisher Road)
• Cairncross
• Wauchope
• Kew

We have partnered with Willing & Able, a not-for-profit foundation to recycle clothing and linen in good condition and save these valuable resources from ending up in our Landfill.

Willing & Able provide their service free to our community, through the Reusability program. Simply drop off for free, or request a free collection.

Make sure to check the guidelines and quality standards before organising your donations.

How to recycle your clothing

Drop off at a collection box

Clothing and linen in good condition can be dropped off at five collection boxes in our region. These collection points are located at each of our waste transfer stations in Port Macquarie, Wauchope, Comboyne, Kew and Cairncross.

Find the waste facility closest to you, and check opening hours before dropping off.

Drop off to Willing & Able

Willing & Able are able to take donations of good quality clothing, linen, or bric-a-brac at their Op Shop.

Location: 39 Jindalee Road, Port Macquarie.
Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 8:30am and 2:00pm.

Request a collection

You can request a clothing and bric-a-brac collection online, or through our WasteInfo app. 

A member of the Willing and Able Team will call you as soon as possible to confirm your collection day and time slot.

Please note that collection areas are generally limited to where our kerbside waste services are offered.  

This project is a NSW Environment Protection Authority, Waste Less Recycle More initiative funded from the waste levy. 

Community sharps such as needles, syringes and lancets (finger prickers) must be kept separate to other waste for safety reasons.

These can’t be placed in rubbish bins or with household waste. Instead, they can be discarded for free in community sharps disposal bins.

There are 10 community sharps bins in our region, find the locations listed below.