Other Recycling and Disposal Options
The following is a list of disposal options for items that cannot be placed out for collection in the normal household garbage service.
Recycling Near You
Planet Ark's www.recyclingnearyou.com.au site contains information about the recycling and waste services offered by council as well as local drop-off options for items including computers, batteries, printer cartridges, mobile phones and many more. To find options near you use the Search function or call the Recycling Hotline on 1300 733 712 (Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm EST).
Hazardous Waste and Household Chemicals
Household clutter includes paint and paint related products, pesticides and herbicides, poisons, solvents and household cleaners, motor oils, 
fuels and fluids, batteries, gas bottles, fire extinguishers, pool chemicals, acids and alkalis, hobby chemicals and florescent tubes. For the correct disposal of these items, call the Environment Line on 131 555 between 8.30am to 5.00pm, Monday to Friday or visit the CleanOut website http://www.cleanout.com.au/ for information.
The next Chemical CleanOut for The Hills Shire Council area is:
TO BE SCHEDULED - Please note: The Hills Shire Council is unable to offer this service at set times of the year, instead this service will be offered subject to available resources. Keep an eye on this page for upcoming event dates and venue locations or alternatively contact the Waste Department on +61 2 9843 0310 to be placed on an email register for updates of upcoming events.
Old Car Batteries
These can be recycled by taking them to their place of purchase (limits may be applied), or to scrap metal recyclers. Alternatively, motor and household batteries can be taken to Battery World Castle Hill, Unit 2/7-13 Victoria Ave, Castle Hill, NSW (Ph: +61 2 9894 2100
).
Find a used oil recycling facility at http://www.oilrecycling.gov.au/
Old Waste Paint collection Service
Paint Pickup Sydney provides an on call paint collection service from your property. Fees apply. Phone 0402 137 355 or visit www.paintpickup.com.au for further information.
Waste Transfer Station (Tipping Facility)
For residents with excess general, bulky or special wastes which cannot be recycled or collected via Council's On Call Cleanup Service, disposal at a tipping facility may be required. The closest tipping facility for residents in The Hills is the SITA Environmental Solutions Resource Recovery Centre on Powers Road, Seven Hills.
The Resouce Recovery Centre operating hours are;
7am - 4pm Monday to Friday
9am - 4pm Saturday and Sunday
Charges may apply for the use of these facilities. Please contact SITA on 1300 651 116 for further information on fees and charges or visit www.sita.com.au or www.wsn.com.au.
Big Aussie Swap Shops
Have you been to a Swap Shop yet?
The Waste Team host Big Aussie Swap Shops throughout the year. Residents can participate by bringing along good quality items no longer wanted or needed. Browse what others have brought on the day and if there is something that you like, you can have it - for FREE.
Some of the item categories for swapping throughout the year include mens, womens and childrens clothing and accessories, childrens toys, bric a brac, books, CD's, DVD's, sporting goods, etc.
NEXT EVENT:
Date: TO BE SCHEDULED - Please note: The Hills Shire Council is unable to offer this service at set times of the year, instead this service will be offered subject to available resources. Keep an eye on this page for upcoming event dates and venue locations or alternatively contact the Waste Department on +61 2 9843 0310 to be placed on an email register for updates of upcoming events.
Time: - to be announced.
Location: - to be determined.
Items: Good quality, near new items clothing, accessories, books, CD's, DVD's, bric a brac and childrens toys will be accepted on the day.
All good quality, near new items clothing, accessories and childrens toys will be accepted on the day. All items are free and no exchange of money will occur.
If you don’t have anything to swap on the day you can still browse what other people have brought and take something away with you.
All items for swapping must be easily handled by one person.
Old mobiles, CDs and DVDs and household batteries will be accepted for recycling at the event, so round’em up and hand’em in.
Furniture / Clothing / Manchester / Homewares
Salvation Army Dural - +61 2 9651 3456 or 13 16 40
St Vincent de Paul - Pennant Hills +61 2 9484 2064
St Vincent de Paul - Baulkham Hills +61 2 9686 4159
St Vincent de Paul - Castle Hill +61 2 9680 2729
MS Shop - Baulkham Hills +61 2 9686 3106
Back to top
Fridge Buyback is an award-winning residential energy savings program that actually pays you to help save the environment and reduce your power bills by giving up your old second fridge or upright freezer.
Old fridges are one of the biggest energy users in the home, consuming up to three times the energy of new fridges. Running a typical second fridge adds an average of $300 a year to your power bill and puts one tonne of carbon pollution into the environment. And, old upright freezers use almost as much power as an old fridge.
To participate in the program, your fridge must be a working second fridge that has been in regular use, is 200 litres (7.06 cubic feet) or more in size and built before 1996. Fridge Buyback can also now take upright freezers that have been in regular use, are 200 litres or more in size and built before 1996.
Fridge Buyback provides residents with free collections by professional removalists and a $35 rebate if the removal of the appliance involves 6 steps or less. The appliance is collected for free if there are between 7 and 20 steps but no rebate is available. A fee will apply only if the property has more than 20 steps. The appliances collected are professionally degassed and the metals recycled.
For more information call 1800 708 401 or visit the Fridge Buyback website at www.fridgebuyback.com.au - You can also see a short youtube video showing how the program works.
Fridge Buyback is an energy savings program supported by the NSW Government’s Climate Change Fund and Council. The program is independently operated by Next Energy Pty Ltd.
Medical Waste
Many people rely on using needles and syringes to maintain their own health or that of a family member. Community sharps is the name used to describe needles, syringes and similar equipment resulting from these activities. For free disposal of community sharps, take sharps in a sealed puncture resistant container (not glass) to one of the pharmacies or yellow medical sharps bins below:
PRICELINE PHARMACY
Shop 18-22 Westfield Shopping Centre, North Rocks - Phone +61 2 9872 1979
ROUSE HILL SOUL PATTINSON
Shop 8 Rouse Hill Village Centre, Windsor Road, Rouse Hill - Phone +61 2 9629 4079
TERRY WHITE CHEMIST
Shop 72 Rouse Hill Town Centre, 10-14 Market Lane, Rouse Hill - Phone +61 2 8882 9033
TERRY WHITE CHEMIST
shop 34 Rouse Hill Town Centre, Rouse Hill - Phone +61 2 8883 0988
CRESTWOOD CENTRE PHARMACY
Shop 2 Glanmire Rd, Baulkham Hills - Phone +61 2 9624 1434
TOLAR PHARMACY
Shop 13 Northmead Plaza, Campbell Street, Northmead - Phone +61 2 9630 7717
OATLANDS PHARMACY
42 Belmore Street, Oatlands - Phone +61 2 9630 2858
SHILKINS PHARMACY
4 Carmen Drive, Carlingford - Phone +61 2 9871 3848
KNIGHTSBRIDGE PHARMACY
Shop 4 Knightsbridge Shopping Centre, Gilbert Road, Castle Hill - Phone +61 2 9680 3252
COONARA CHEMIST
Shop 4, 35 Coonara Avenue, West Pennant Hills - Phone +61 2 9894 4688
CASTLE TOWERS AMCAL
Shop 302 Castle Towers Shopping Centre, Castle Hill - Phone +61 2 9634 4040
KENTHURST PHARMACY
Shop 5A Kenthurst Shopping Centre, Nelson Street, Kenthurst - Phone +61 2 9654 1984
GLENHAVEN PHARMACY
Shop 4, 78 Glenhaven Road, Glenhaven - Phone +61 2 9899 8822
Public Sharps Disposal Bins:
GEORGE SUTTOR RESERVE Old Northern Road, Baulkham Hills (next to Baulkham Hills Bowling Club)
HILLS COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE 183-187 Excelsior Avenue , Castle Hill (bin located next to the garage).
Unwanted Medicines
Return old unwanted medicines to any pharmacy for free and safe disposal or call 1300 650 835.
Back to top
Computers, Printer Cartridges and other Electronic Waste
Every year Australians purchase millions of computers and related components to replace equipment superseded by faster and more powerful technologies. While computers are getting smaller and lighter, they are still a major waste management issue, particularly with the older computers and monitors.
FREE recycling service
Council is pleased to advise that since 1 March 2013, under the National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme (www.environment.gov.au/ewaste), The Hills Shire Council is now able to offer residents access to a FREE recycling service for old or unwanted household items such as televisions, computers and computer products, such as printers and keyboards regardless of their age or brand every day of the week. A limit of 15 items per drop off applies. A number of e-waste Drop Zone collection points have been set up and are located throughout the Sydney region.
Your e-waste can be taken to :
SITA Australia - Resource Recovery Centre, 29 Powers Road, Seven Hills. Hours of operation: 7.00am – 4.00pm Monday to Friday and 9.00am – 4.00pm Saturdays and Sundays. The site may not be open on public holidays. For further information you may call the SITA Customer Service on 1300 651 116 or visit sita.com.au.
The products accepted for free drop off include:
Televisions:
All televisions, such as CRTs, Plasma, LCD and Projection televisions
Computers and computer products:
Personal computers
Laptops, notebooks, palmtops and tablets
Computer monitors
Parts for personal computers - for example internal hard drives, motherboards, cards, internal power supplies, CPUs DVD and CD drives
Computer peripherals – for example, mouse, keyboards, joysticks, game pads, scanners and web cameras
Computer modems
Printers – for example ink-jet, dot matrix, laser printers and multi-functional devices
|
To see a range of other computer and electronic waste recycling options in areas surrounding you visit www.recyclingnearyou.com.au, www.dropzone.org.au or http://techcollect.com.au/
National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme - A Guide for Householders
The National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme involves a combination of government regulation and industry action to take responsibility for the collection and recycling of waste televisions, computers, printers and computer products.
Under the Scheme, householders and small business will be able to drop-off these items for free at designated access points, which may include permanent collection sites, take-back events or through a mail-back option. Collection services under the Scheme will be progressively rolled out by industry from 2012, expanding across metropolitan, regional and remote areas of Australia by the end of 2013.
For further information a fact sheet is avaliable to view National Television and Computer Recycling Scheme - A Guide for Householders or contact ewaste@environment.gov.au or visit http://www.environment.gov.au/ewaste
Refurbished Computers and Equipment
If you are interested in recycled/refurbished computers and computer equipment you should contact organisations such as http://www.renewablerecyclers.org.au/ who collect and offer computers suitable for reuse at a low cost to families and community groups in need.
Recycling Printer Cartridges
Over the past 10 years the ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ (C4PA) program has helped ensure over 18 million printer cartridges, ink jets, toner bottles and other print consumables have been diverted from landfill.
Most of the cartridges from participating manufacturers - Brother, Canon, Epson, HP, Konica Minolta, Lexmark and Kyocera are delivered to Close the Loop, a Melbourne-based Australian company, which provides a zero-waste-to-landfill guarantee for their processes. The rest are returned to the manufacturers for their own processing.
You can recycle cartridges at;
All Officeworks and JB HiFi stores and at participating Australia Post, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith, The Good Guys stores and many others.
To find your nearest drop-off location, visit Cartridges.PlanetArk.org (direct - http://recyclingnearyou.com.au/cartridges/BaulkhamHillsNSW) or call the ‘Cartridges 4 Planet Ark’ Hotline on 1800 24 24 73.
Mobile Muster
The MobileMuster program is the official national recycling program of the mobile phone industry in Australia and is funded solely by Australian Mobile Telecommunications Association (AMTA) members.
Mobile phones contain small amounts of potentially hazardous substances like cadmium, lead, brominated fire retardants and if not handled appropriately at the end of their lives, can harm the environment.
So instead of hording your old disused phones, delete any information from them, remove the sim card and Round 'em up, hand 'em in to a collection point close to you!
The Hills Shire Council Customer Service Centre Administration Building - 129 Showground Road, Castle Hill (enter via Carrington Road)
Baulkham Hills Library - Railway Street, Baulkham Hills
Castle Hill Library - Cnr Castle and Pennant Streets, Castle Hill
Carlingford Library - Lloyds Avenue, Carlingford
Dural Library - Pellitt Lane, Dural
Vinegar Hill Memorial Library - 29 Main Street, Rouse Hill
MobileMuster guarantees the phones are recycled to the highest environmental standards!
Asbestos Waste
For more information on disposing of asbestos you can call the Department of Environment and Climate Change Pollution Line on 131 555 or email info@environment.nsw.gov.au
Other websites which may be useful include:
drumMUSTER
Council in partnership with Hornsby Council is working with Agsafe Limited in collecting empty chemical containers under its drumMUSTER program. DrumMuster is a national program administered by Agsafe Limited aimed at reducing numbers of containers going to landfill and to promote recycling of empty containers.
Rural land owners and residents, businesses and schools are invited to bring along any empty containers with or without the drumMuster logo free of charge on the collection day.
All the Containers collected on the day must be:
- Triple rinsed
- Free of any chemical residue
- Clean and dry
- Punctured if they are metal
- Have lids removed
Further details from www.drummuster.com.au.
Used Motor Oil
SITA Environmental Solutions Resource Recovery Centre at Powers Road, Seven Hills and Wallgrove Road, Eastern Creek will accept up to 20 Litres of used motor oil, free of charge. The Oil is recycled where possible or disposed of responsibly.
For further information visit www.sita.com.au or Phone 1300 651 116.
Back to top
Battery Recycling
Did you know that around 8,000 tonnes of batteries are sent to landfill every year?
Council has recently introduced a battery recycling program. The batteries are collected and sorted into their respective technologies and recycled locally where possible.
Please help us keep single use and rechargable batteries (as Shown) out of landfill and take them to a collection point listed below.
The Hills Shire Council Customer Service Centre Administration Building - 129 Showground Road, Castle Hill (enter via Carrington Road).
Baulkham Hills Library - Railway Street, Baulkham Hills.
Castle Hill Library - Cnr Castle and Pennant Streets, Castle Hill.
Carlingford Library - Lloyds Avenue, Carlingford.
Dural Library - Pellitt Lane, Dural.
Vinegar Hill Memorial Library - 29 Main Street, Rouse Hill.
Alternatively, household batteries can be taken to Battery World Castle Hill, Unit 2/7-13 Victoria Ave, Castle Hill, NSW (Ph: +61 2 9894 2100).
CD, DVD and VHS Recycling
Council has recently introduced a CD and DVD recycling program. The CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes collected are rendered un-readable and recycled into new products.
Please help us keep CDs, DVDs and VHS tapes out of landfilland take them to one of the collection point listed below;
The Hills Shire Council Customer Service Centre Administration Building - 129 Showground Road, Castle Hill (enter via Carrington Road).
Baulkham Hills Library - Railway Street, Baulkham Hills.
Castle Hill Library - Cnr Castle and Pennant Streets, Castle Hill.
Carlingford Library - Lloyds Avenue, Carlingford.
Dural Library - Pellitt Lane, Dural.
Vinegar Hill Memorial Library - 29 Main Street, Rouse Hill.
Free Pruned Tree and Shrubs Mulching Service
Bring along your pruned trees and shrubs and have them mulched to take home and use on your garden.
Mulching days are held on the first and third Saturday of every month (excluding January) from 9.30am - 2pm at the Bidjiwong Community Nursery at Ted Horwood Reserve in Baulkham Hills.
BOOKINGS ARE ESSENTIAL - Call +61 2 9843 0310 during business hours.
Please note that due to licensing restrictions you are required to take mulch home with you on the day.
The following restrictions also apply;
Please contact Council for further information and location details.
Back to Top
Sharing, trading and swapping - online sites and community resources
Sharing, trading and swapping locally is a great way to meet neighbours and community members, save money, and help the environment. It also helps to promote positive changes in the way goods are produced and consumed. There are plenty of ways for you to start swapping, sharing and trading in your local area. See a list of free trading websites below or visit www.newdream.org to download your 'Guide To Sharing' and get swapping and trading in your neighbourhood.
The Guide To Sharing is a creative, fun and easy to use online guide that promotes collective action and civic engagement to build more sustainable, healthier and happier communities. Follow the step by step guide to organise and implement programs in your neighbourhood.
Online swapping and trading sites
Internet Freecycle
Thousands of people around Sydney use this handy network to give away just about anything from coat hangers to broken TV's. If you have access to the Internet this would be one of the quickest ways to dispose of these unwanted items.
To become a member of the Freecycle network simply go to http://www.freecycle.org/ click on 'Browse Groups' and follow the links untill you come to your local internet group(s) i.e. Sydney North West. To join, you will need to set up a Yahoo Group account. When you have established this account you will receive an email with further directions for giving away your unwanted possessions.
Internet sites frequently modify their pages. Should you have any difficulty using the site please contact Council’s Waste Education Officer on +61 2 9843 0505.
Ziilch.com.au
ziilch.com.au is a comprehensive re-use website providing an online resource for finding, giving away and managing re-usable items.
Ziilch provides individuals, businesses, charities, not for profit and social enterprises a free online website to list unwanted items and search for wanted items across a broad range of categories including furniture, electrical goods, clothing, office, general household, garden and outdoor, automotive and computers – to name just a few.
- It's free to list an item
- It's free to to want an item
- It's free to take an item
ziilch.com.au provides a complimentary service which offers FREE, simple and fast online recycling of unwanted goods.
The Sharehood
The Sharehood is all about sharing resources and getting to know people in your local area. When you join, you see the members who live closest to you, and the things and skills they want to lend and borrow. Visit www.thesharehood.org for further information.
Back to top