Suburban recycling hubs
Brisbane residents can drop off hard-to-recycle household items at over 50 Council suburban recycling hubs. The hubs help residents to recycle items that cannot be placed in a household recycling bin. Find out below what can be recycled at your closest hub.
Where are the new suburban recycling hubs?
The map below shows where free drop-off points are for a variety of small common items. If you'd prefer to see a table view, use the toggle above the map to move to 'text view'.
There are 3 hubs that are being trialled at:
These trial hubs are designed for residents to drop-off multiple household items. The trial will measure each hub for its ease of use, amount collected and recycling options for the materials.
Suburban recycling hubs map
Each location accepts different items. Not all items can be dropped off at all locations. Check the map for what is acceptable for drop off at locations near you.
To ensure that your items can be recycled or reused once collected, follow our guidelines.
Blister packs
Ensure to empty medicine from blister packs before disposal.
Note: Check with your local pharmacy, as they can often accept expired medicine for safe disposal.
CDs & DVDs
- Blu-ray discs
- CDs
- DVDs.
Note: Keep CDs and DVDs in plastic cases.
Cosmetic packaging
- compact, setting powder and loose powder
- concealer tubes and sticks
- eye liner pencils
- eye shadow and blush containers
- eyebrow pencils, gel and powder
- face moisturiser, day and night creams
- hand cream and body lotion
- lip gloss, liner, lip sticks and lip balm tubes
- liquid and powder foundations
- make-up remover and cleaner
- mascara
- nail polish, varnish and nail polish remover
- nail treatment and nail creams
- perfume bottles
- self-tanning products
- setting spray
- toner.
Unacceptable cosmetic items include:
- shampoo, conditioner and soap bottles (these can go in your household recycling bin)
- scissors, tweezers and shaving razors.
Note: Cosmetic and skin care packaging must be empty before recycling.
Mobile phones
- mobile phones
- mobile phone chargers and accessories.
Small e-waste
- alarm clocks
- charger cords and electrical cables
- computer cables, mouse and accessories
- digital cameras
- electric toothbrushes
- electronic games, consoles and toys
- headphones and earphones
- small hairdryers and hair straighteners
- small stereos, speakers and radios
- smart watches
- torches/flashlights
- wi-fi modems.
Batteries
The following batteries are accepted for recycling at resource recovery centres and drop off points:
- button batteries
- household batteries AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, 6V
- rechargeable batteries.
The following types of batteries are only accepted at the resource recovery centres:
- lithium, lead acid car batteries
- power bank batteries
- solar batteries.
Note: Tape the terminals of your batteries to prevent risk of fire. Put your dead batteries in a glass container and keep out of reach of children. Take them to your nearest battery drop off point. Keep mobile phone batteries inside your phone and deposit at a mobile phone drop off location.
X-rays
X-rays are accepted for recycling at the hubs.
Note: If an x-ray is larger than the opening of the collection box, use scissors to cut the x-ray in half before depositing it in the collection box.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to the items dropped off for recycling
All recyclable items are sorted into their different waste streams then collected by Council’s contractor or participating recycling partners. Each material goes through a sperate recycling process, which may include processing the items back to their foundation elements, like plastic and steel, before these raw materials are used to create new products.
- Blister packs are put through mechanical recycling processes to separate the aluminium foil from the plastic blister. Learn more via the Pharmacycle website.
- Cosmetic packaging is sorted into plastics, metals and glass and the processed products are used in building materials. Learn more via the Close the Loop website.
- CDs and DVDs are sent for plastic recycling to be made into plastic pallets. Learn more via the SPC eCycle website.
- E-waste is broken down to recover metals and hard plastics. Learn more via the SPC eCycle website.
- Mobile phones are processed to extract glass, aluminium and valuable metals. Learn more via the Mobile Muster website.
- X-ray films are put through chemical recycling process to recover silver and plastic. Learn more via the Ecocycle website.
How to use the hubs
Collect acceptable recyclable items from your household, making sure they are clean and empty before visiting your closest recycling hub location.
Only household quantities are accepted at the recycling hubs with a maximum of 20 items per category able to be dropped off at one time. Items must go inside the correct recycling box and must not be placed outside of the correct recycling box or left outside the site or location.
If you have waste from a business and want to recycle more, find out about reducing business waste.
What if the location near me doesn’t accept the items I have collected
Many retailers accept hard-to-cycle items such as batteries, pens and markers, ink cartridges, toys, and gardening tools. Council’s resource recovery centres also accept other recyclables. Download the Brisbane Bin and Recycling App or visit Planet Ark Recycling Near You or Recycle Mate website to find more information and recycling options.
Can I recycle vapes and e-cigarettes?
Both vapes and e-cigarettes are not accepted in the recycling hubs.
Drop off household quantities of vapes or e-cigarettes for free at one of our four resource recovery centres.